Alyson Dumbledore
by PadfootPotter
Summary: Dumbledore’s daughter – Aly’s life including her best friend Lily, the impossible Marauder’s, and her life with her father as headmaster.
1. Baby Alyson

Summary: Dumbledore's daughter – Aly's life including her best friend Lily, the impossible Marauder's, and her life with her father as headmaster.

Disclaimer: ok, we all know I don't any of the characters you recognize or any of the settings – they are J.K. Rowling's. I do claim Alyson though.

XxXxX

Albus Dumbledore slowly opened the door to his office and Minerva McGonagall walked in. She couldn't read his face because of the dark shadows in the usually beautiful room.

"Albus, what's wrong?" she asked.

After a long pause, he said, "Patricia," he paused and took a breath, "Patricia," he paused again and with some difficulty continued, "Minerva, Patricia's dead."

Minerva's heart immediately went out to the tall man before her. She knew how much he loved his wife. She thought back over the course of their marriage. Patricia had been a student of Dumbledore's. Minerva remembered her very vividly: young, beautiful face, long, dark, curly hair and always covered with bruises when she came back from summer break. Patricia's father beat her and she had found comfort in her Transfiguration teacher. After she had graduated, she had come back to Dumbledore because the abuse had become too much. Eventually, they had fallen in love and even with the 40 years difference, they had wed. After 30 years of being happily married, with a cozy cottage in Hogsmeade (so Dumbledore could still teach and still be close to Patricia), Patricia decided that she needed more. She took a very big step and went to a muggle fertility clinic and was artificially inseminated. Now, it was nine months later and she was dead.

"How?" Minerva ventured.

"Complications," Dumbledore replied simply looking out a window aimlessly.

"And, well, and the baby?"

He turned slowly to look at her and a slight sparkle entered his eyes. He nodded toward his desk. On the beautiful mahogany sat a small bassinet. "Alyson Patricia," he said and a slight smile slipped onto his lips.

"Alison?"

"With a 'y'," he informed her. "Patricia wanted it with a 'y'."

Minerva nodded and slowly made her way over to the small bassinet and looked down at the small sleeping baby. She watched the rise and fall of her chest. Dumbledore turned back to the window and stared out it again.

After some time, the child stirred, but did not cry. She looked up at Minerva with large clear, blue eyes. Alyson waved her arms around and began to kick, but still she didn't cry.

"Um," Minerva started at Dumbledore. He turned slightly and she saw tear stains on his cheeks, so she picked up the baby and began to rock her.

"There, there, everything's going to be alright," she whispered soothingly to the baby.

"How can you say that to her?" Dumbledore started. He turned to face her, "You know it's not true. I can't even begin to understand why this happened." His voice was soft, but very flared none-the-less. "Nothing is going to be ok. I just got appointed headmaster. How can I possible take care of a child with all this stuff already on my plate?" He stopped and looked at Minerva as if daring her to give him an answer.

"Everything will be alright," she said forcefully, "Alyson has you, but most importantly, you have her. That's all you need. Trust me, Albus. Whether or not it seems like it now, when you need help through something Alyson will be the one to give it to you, no one else," she said. "She'll be there for you, now, you have to be there for her. She needs your help physically. She'll help you without doing anything. Albus, you have to strong. Not for yourself, but for her. For Alyson. For your daughter. Your last bit of Patricia, her legacy." She finished and looked over at Dumbledore.

"You're right," he said. "Here, give me my daughter." He took the child in his arms. "You're right, we will be okay." He rocked the child until she fell back to sleep. "We really will be alright," he said to his sleeping daughter.


	2. 4 to 10

Summary: Dumbledore's daughter – Aly's life including her best friend Lily, the impossible Marauder's, and her life with her father as headmaster.

Disclaimer: ok, we all know I don't any of the characters you recognize or any of the settings – they are J.K. Rowling's. I do claim Alyson though.

XxXxX

Minerva McGonagall smiled as a small blur of purple ran past her. Dumbledore came walking into the front hall of Hogwarts, smiling.

"Where did she go?" he asked.

"Follow the purple," Minerva said pointing up the steps.

Dumbledore smiled and shook his head and started up the steps. Minerva followed him.

"So, how does Aly like her new baby-sitter?"

"She bit her," Dumbledore said.

"She what?" Minerva asked in surprise.

"She bit her and then she quit," he said with a smile.

"That child has got one nasty temper," Minerva said.

"But of course," Dumbledore said, "She is a Dumbledore after all."

They reached the top of the steps and continued down the corridors. The pictures turned and greeted both of them as they passed. They turned the corner to Dumbledore's office and there stood Aly looking quite innocent.

"What did you do?" Dumbledore asked his daughter.

"Nuthin'" she replied in a sweet voice, but smiled wickedly.

Dumbledore raised an eyebrow at the four year old and went over to the gargoyle that guarded his office. "Peppermint Toad."

The gargoyle didn't move. Aly stifled her giggle.

Dumbledore looked down at Aly and asked, "Did you change the password, Alyson?"

Aly put on a very innocent face. So, innocent, in fact, that it was obviously fake. "Me?" she asked.

Dumbledore surveyed his daughter through his half-moon spectacles. "What did you change it to?"

She played innocent for a few more minutes, and then said, "Come here. It's a secret."

Dumbledore leaned down and listened as Aly whispered something into his ear.

Dumbledore sighed and stood then asked Aly, "Are you sure that's what it is?"

Aly nodded and smiled.

"Fine," he heaved another sigh, "Pantalonil Palaver."

The gargoyle came to life and jumped aside. Aly giggled and ran onto the revolving stairway. Minerva came over to Dumbledore and asked, "What does that mean?" "You don't want to know," Dumbledore said putting up his hand and walking onto the stairway. Minerva followed him.

XxXxX

Aly had grown up in Hogwarts. She knew every secret passage there was. She knew the Forbidden Forest like the back of her hand. The centaurs knew her and many loved her spunk and spirit. Besides her father, Aly was the only human welcomed with open arms into the centaur community. She ran the large grounds, played on the Quidditch pitch after the student's curfew while the students watched miserably from their common rooms. She knew every password and it wouldn't be a surprise to find her wondering in your common room late at night, early in the morning, or in between classes. She even sat in on a few classes, now and then, showing off and raising her hand every time a question was asked.

However, once she turned nine, a problem hit Dumbledore. One he was not prepared to handle: boys. The 1st year boys began to notice Aly and would try and get her to sit with them at meals when she was there. She caused much jealous from all the girls in the school, since even the 7th year boys would take notice of the breath-taking beauty. She had inherited her mother's dark hair that naturally fell into beautiful curls and her father's astonishing blue eyes. She was sweet and charming and almost any boy who talked to her would fall almost instantly in love, even at the young age of nine.

She quickly learned that she could cause trouble and could get fights to start over her. Once she even sent two boys to the hospital wing. Dumbledore figured the best thing to do to stop her from getting into to trouble would be to not let her come to Hogwarts anymore. She was forced to stay in the cottage she slept in, since she basically lived at Hogwarts otherwise, and she threw fits. She ran away, which didn't work because every person in the small wizard town knew who she was. She screamed endlessly when ever her father would come home. She's cry herself to sleep and the living room floor. More than anything she wanted to be at Hogwarts. It was her home. Many times she tried to sneak back up into the school, but there was no avail, she got caught every time.

She became sullen towards her father. The only person she would talk to would be Hagrid, the grounds keeper at the school. He would come to visit her everyday. He'd make her tea and tell her stories about his previous night at a bar or about the Quidditch match that had taken place that day. She loved her time with Hagrid.

Her anger with her father just grew every time he'd come home and after seeing her face twisted with anger, say, "Only 2 more years, Aly, then you can come and stay at Hogwarts."

She'd scream and stomp off to her room.

Eventually, her time did come. The last day of July, Aly got her Hogwarts letter. She danced around the cottage and sang the Hogwarts school song at the top of her lungs. She ran up to the school gates and waited for Hagrid. As he appeared, she burst into joyous chatter about her letter.

Hagrid laughed and said, "Did ya have any doubts 'bout getting' in?"

"No, of course not! But now its official!" she laughed.

"Ya goin' take the train on Sept'mber 1?" Hagrid asked.

"Of course!" Aly cried, "I want the full experience. No matter what he says."

"Aw, com'on, Al, don't talk 'bout ya dad like that."

Aly made face and then laughed again, "I finally get to go back!"


	3. The train

Summary: Dumbledore's daughter – Aly's life including her best friend Lily, the impossible Marauder's, and her life with her father as headmaster.

Disclaimer: ok, we all know I don't any of the characters you recognize or any of the settings – they are J.K. Rowling's. I do claim Alyson though.

XxXxX

On September 1, Aly dressed top-speed. She grabbed hold of her trunk and drug it down the hall. As she entered the kitchen, she was stopped by her father.

"Where do you think your going?" he asked her.

Aly looked over at him and made a face. "I'm going to take the train like all the other students do," she announced.

Dumbledore studied her face, realizing the look of determination that her mother use to wear, and gave up. "Fine," he told her, "Just be careful."

Aly squealed and hugged him quickly and then ran out of the cottage sending dust flying on the pathway outside with her trunk.

XxXxX

"Minerva, I have a bad feeling about this year."

"Why's that, Albus?" she asked turning to face him.

"Have you seen the list of 1st years?" he asked her. His face had grown tired over the summer and he looked very disheartened.

"No. Why who's on it?" she asked coming to get a better look.

"Well, we have got a Black coming in. They've been causing nothing but trouble with the ministry as long as I can remember. I really wish we wouldn't let these 'all-high and mighty purebloods' into the school. They always cause nothing but trouble."

"Albus, you're being a hypocrite. They don't want Muggle-born's here and you don't want them here."

"Well," Dumbledore said continuing, "We've got a Malfoy coming in too. They're a bunch of pureblood fools too. Not as bad as the Black's, but bad none-the-less."

"Oh! We've got a Potter coming in too, huh?" Minerva said.

"Yes, James," Dumbledore said.

"I wonder how long it takes before you get a letter from his mother begging you to send him home," she said with a laugh.

"Can you blame her? The only survive of her 4 children, she's bound to be attached to him," he replied distracted.

"Albus?"

"Hmm...?" He looked up to see Minerva looking at him. "Oh, I'm fine," he said noticing that she wore a look of worry. "It's just; Aly went to the train station this morning. I'm just having a little trouble coping with it."

"Don't worry about her, she'll be fine."

"I hope your right. I really hope your right."

XxXxX

Aly walked happily into the train station. Even though she was underage, she knew how to Apparate and since no one in the ministry had enough guts to tell Dumbledore's only child not to break the law, that's how she got there.

She walked up to the barrier, a wall between Platforms 9 and 10, and saw a girl with curly red who was kissing her mother and father good-bye and a short boy with black hair that stood up every which-way standing by himself looking confused.

The girl's mother, father, and sister had turned to leave and now the boy and girl both stood there looking around them. It seemed neither one knew how to get through the barrier. Aly walked up to them.

"Hogwarts?" she asked.

"Huh? Uh, yeah," the boy said.

"Do you not know how to get through?" she asked.

"I know how to get through. I just don't know where it is," he replied.

"I don't know either of the two," the girl said.

"Here, follow me," Aly said pushing her cart with her trunk on it towards the wall. "Well, come on." She waved them over to the wall with her.

They both came over and she said, "Just lean into the wall. Just make sure you've got everything secure." The girl looked very scared, but the boy looked like he thought Aly was lying to him.

"Ok, on the count of three we'll all lean back together. Ok, 1, 2, 3."

They all pushed back and soon a large scarlet train appeared before them. Its whistle blew.

"Come on, we'll miss it if we don't hurry."

They all hurried off towards the train. Aly helped them store their luggage and climbed on board. All three of them proceed down the hallway. All the compartments seemed to be filled. "What if we have to stand?" the girl asked.

"Here's one," Aly announced as they reached the very last compartment.

She slid open the door. There was one person sitting in the compartment. He had short, brown hair that fell very elegantly around his eyes. He was lounged carelessly across the seat. He looked up at them as they entered.

"We're sitting here, ok," Aly announced. It was more of a statement than a question. "Who died and made you queen?" the boy asked as the red headed girl and the unruly haired boy sat down, but Aly remained standing.

"Well, who asked you to open your mouth?" Aly fired back.

The boy raised his eyebrow at her and a small hint of a smile hit his lips. "Sirius Black," he said stretching out his hand to her.

Aly made a face of disgust and replied, "Charmed, I'm sure."

The boy looked taken aback. He then asked, "And you are?"

"Aly."

"Just Aly? No last name?"

"My last name isn't really important. Not like yours anyways," and with that, she sat down.

A blush crept across the boy's handsome face. "What do you mean by that?" he replied angrily.

"Well, I'm actually surprised you didn't ask for our backgrounds before we came in here. What if we were Muggle-born or something? A Black can't associate with the likes of that, can he?"

Aly had apparently made him mad because he made a very ugly face at her. Aly smiled contently and turned to the other two people in the compartment. "And your names are?" she asked politely.

"James," the boy said as if trying not to seem intimidated by Aly. His voice came out really high and squeaky though, so, he did a really bad job of hiding it.

Aly studied him, "Potter?"

The boy swallowed hard as if preparing himself for some sort of lashing, "Yes."

"Oh good, Black, he's a pureblood, no worries now. You can probably bribe your way into office through him, since his dad's second to the minister, just like the rest of your family has," Aly said to Sirius.

"And you?" she asked the girl before Sirius could reply.

"I'm Lily Evans," said softly and then as an after thought added, "I'm Muggle born, though."

Aly turned to study Black's face. He looked non-phased by the information and leaned around James and said, "Nice to meet you, Lily, James," he nodded at both of them and turned back to Aly.

Aly then looked back at Lily and James and said, "Hi. Nervous?"

"Of course," Lily said, "Who isn't?"

"I'm not," Sirius said.

"Oh, of course you are. Don't lie," Aly told him.

"And how do you what I feel?"

"You're a Black. You're raised to be a droid, doing your family's evil bidding. Raised to hate Muggle born's and help to build a new world of just purebloods."

"That's not fair," Sirius suddenly shouted. "You don't even know me. I absolutely hate my family and the way they think. If I could I would have been born into a Muggle family just to spite them. So, why don't you shut your trap and quit saying things that aren't true." He had stood up as he yelled and now Aly was on her feet.

She glared at him, "Don't yell at me!"

He glared back and through clenched teeth said, "I'll do as I please, thank you."

They stood there glaring at each other. Finally, Aly broke the silence by saying, "I bet you 5 galleons you're gone in a week."

"You're on," Sirius growled back and stuck out his hand. Aly took it and shook it.

They both sat back down and after a long spell of silence Lily said, "So, bedsides being nervous, is anyone excited?" she turned beet red and looked as if she wished she hadn't said anything.

"I am!" Aly said cheerfully, half out of truth and half out of pity for Lily's embarrassment.

James and Sirius both mumbled a 'yeah'.

"Just wait, you'll absolutely love it! It's really pretty in the summer and there's a lake you can swimming in. There's a giant squid in it though, so, you have to be careful. There are tons of secret passageways and the forbidden forest! Oh, it's totally, it's just, Hogwarts is just indescribable. The absolute best place on earth!" Aly said in almost one breath.

"You sound like a friggin' travel agent." Sirius mumbled. Aly shot him a look.

The rest of the time on the train was filled with Lily asking Aly questions about Hogwarts and James and Sirius talking lightly about Quidditch, but mostly just listening to Aly babble.

As the train slowed down, Aly felt like something had erupted in her stomach; a feeling of joy and of peace. She was finally going home.


	4. The sorting

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luvergurl01, Gemini, fra, and benny – thank you guys so much for the reviews.  
  
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Summary: Dumbledore's daughter – Aly's life including her best friend Lily, the impossible Marauder's, and her life with her father as headmaster.  
  
Disclaimer: ok, we all know I don't any of the characters you recognize or any of the settings – they are J.K. Rowling's. I do claim Alyson though.  
  
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Note: I put a sorting song in. It's not that great, but it's the best I could do.  
  
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As all the students filed off of the train, familiar voice struck Aly's ears.  
  
"Firs' years! Over here firs' year!"  
  
She smiled as Hagrid's large figure, which seemed to swell in the dim lantern light, came into view. Lily, who was sticking close to Aly, scooted even closer to her as they approached Hagrid.  
  
"Alyson," Hagrid greeted her with a smile.  
  
"Rubeus," Aly added back with a crook in her eyebrow.  
  
Hagrid's smile seemed to deepen and then announced loudly for everyone to hear, "Alright, all you firs' years," he called out, "File into these here boats."  
  
Aly, Lily, Sirius, James, and two other first years climbed into a boat along with Hagrid.  
  
As they floated towards the castle, a silence had settled onto them. It left an eerie feeling in air and a few of them even shivered. Lily was still crouched close to Aly as if she were some sort of shield.  
  
Aly turned to see Sirius and James both looking like they were likely to puke over the side of the boat.  
  
"Thought you weren't scared," Aly mumbled quietly to Sirius.  
  
"I'm not," he snapped back rather loudly causing a few students to jump.  
  
As Hogwarts came into full view many students gasped. Aly smiled brightly and let out a of sigh of happiness. After a few moments of just watching Hogwarts come closer, she felt someone watching her. She turned, still smiling to see Sirius staring at her.  
  
"What?" she hissed.  
  
Realizing he had been caught watching her, Sirius tried to play it off, "What?" he said shrugging and turning quickly back to look at the castle which was now so close that the light from the windows was hitting their boat.  
  
As they entered the school in a huge mass clumped all together, 'Safety in numbers,' Aly thought, they were greeted by Professor McGonagall.  
  
"Welcome to Hogwarts. Please follow me." She led the mass down a hallway into a room where she left to wait.  
  
Lily, who was still standing very close to Aly, whispered, "What are they going to make us do?"  
  
"Not to worry," Aly informed her, "It's nothing painful or anything."  
  
"With all these filthy little mudbloods around it's a shame it isn't," a voice hissed at her.  
  
Aly whipped around to see an arrogant looking blonde boy standing there.  
  
"What did you say?" Aly asked harshly.  
  
"You heard me," the boy murmured back, "The mudbloods shouldn't be allowed here, it's for wizards, pureblood wizards that is."  
  
Aly started to reach for her wand, thinking wildly of what to do to this horrible boy in front of her. However, someone else was already one step ahead of her. "Apologize," Sirius demanded, his wand already drawn and pointed at the boy.  
  
"Black," the boy whispered.  
  
"Malfoy."  
  
"Defending mudbloods now are you? Well, you always were the black sheep of the family. No pun intended I assure you."  
  
The two stood there glaring at each other until an arm flung out upon Sirius' arm and whispered frantically, "She's coming back!"  
  
Sirius turned to face Lily, then turned quickly to see McGonagall coming toward them, and tucked away his wand. Malfoy took this as a perfect chance to get his own out, but as soon as he had, a sharp voice filled the room, "Put that down this instance!" McGonagall said. "Ten points from which ever house you're placed in. In all my years, I've never seen someone trying to staring fight on the first day." She then turned to the rest of the group and announced "Follow me."  
  
She led them into the Great Hall and Aly whispered, "A sight for sore eyes," as she scanned the enchanted ceiling, the four, long house tables, and the teachers table in front.  
  
"What?" Lily whispered back.  
  
"Nothing," Aly said grinning. They stopped in front of a stool with an old hat on it. They all stood watching, waiting, breathless. Aly knew what was coming though. She used to come watch the sorting when she was young. She'd clap and sway as the hat sang its song. The best part was that every year it was different. This year, however, she was ready to actually listen to what it had to say.  
  
It opened up from one of its seams and began:  
  
Listen now,  
For what I say is true.  
For my new song,  
May interest you.  
  
The fine school you stand in  
Was built very long ago.  
When exactly,  
No one truly knows.  
  
Yet, we do know about its founders  
The great, the brilliant, the spectacular four.  
Stay tuned into to me  
For I will tell you more.  
  
Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, Gryffindor, and Slytherin  
All started out as the best of friends,  
They said 'Let's build a school untied on magic,'  
The unity, not too long after, soon did end.  
  
Gryffindor wanted the bravest,  
The proud and the few.  
The daring, the chivalrous, the brave of heart,  
There's where they dwell, maybe along with you.  
  
Ravenclaw wanted the smart  
The intelligent and the bright  
If your one of these  
Than for Ravenclaw you might be right.  
  
Slytherin wanted only those purest of blood,  
Those who are true are for who he cared.  
Real friends, cunning like you  
You'll find if you are placed there.  
  
Hufflepuff wanted the patient and the kind.  
She wanted the loyal and the just.  
If you are one of these,  
Then place you there I must.  
  
So, come forward now  
And place me on your head,  
And I'll put you where you'll achieve greatness  
For all that may lie ahead.  
  
Everyone clapped as it finished and soon McGonagall had returned and was starting to call names.  
  
"Aronoff, Ashleigh," was the first to be called and was placed in Ravenclaw.  
  
"Black, Narcissa," followed, being placed in Slytherin.  
  
The came, "Black, Sirius." The hat seemed to take it's time, and Sirius began to fidget slightly until eventually in announced, "GRYFFINDOR!" One of the middle tables, draped in scarlet and gold, let out cheers for its first new member.  
  
"Burwell, Melanie," became the second Gryffindor. She took her seat next to Sirius at the table.  
  
After a few other people, it arrived, "Dumbledore, Alyson," McGonagall announced sending a sudden burst of whispers throughout the room.  
  
Sirius' jaw dropped and he moaned loudly, "The headmaster's daughter?" he sighed and then just before the hat was lowered on to Aly's head she saw him say, "Crap, I don't have 5 galleons."  
  
She giggled inwardly and then heard a small voice.  
  
"Find something funny, eh?" Aly almost answered back, but then remember she was the only one able to hear it.  
  
"So, we met again do we? At least you of age this time," Aly had tried the sorting hat on many times before. It would never tell her anything, even though she pleaded with it many times. It just simple replied 'When you time comes.' Now it had and she was ready for it.  
  
"Well, where to put you. You are going to be difficult and impatient, aren't you now." Aly realized mentally she was trying to push the hat to hurry and tried to calm down.  
  
"Ok, let me see, you're brave and loyal, hm, and very determined. You'd make a good match in almost any house, but . . . I think I'm going to put you in, GRYFFINDOR!" The Gryffindor table erupted into cheers. She smiled and jumped off the stool.  
  
She walked confidently over to the table and sat down across from Sirius. "Congrats," he said nodding and looking slightly intimidated.  
  
"I warned you," she replied overly sweet. They both turned back to finish watching the rest of the sorting.  
  
Soon, came, "Evans, Lily." She looked like she was going to puke, but it didn't take long for the hat to decide "GRYFFINDOR!" Lily walked shakily down to the table and sat next to Aly who threw her arm around Lily's shoulders.  
  
"Nothing to worry about now," Aly reassured her.  
  
Aly looked back over at the group that still remained and a boy caught her attention. He was a tired looking, sandy-haired boy and he had caught her attention because she had seen him and his parents talking to her father over the summer. When McGonagall called him she announced, "Lupin, Remus."  
  
He too became a Gryffindor. "Malfoy, Lucius," became a Slytherin and "Pettigrew, Peter," and "Potter, James" both became new Gryffindors, although, the hat took an extraordinarily long time on Peter.  
  
A boy Aly also recognized, but couldn't put a name to, it turned out his name was "Snape, Severus," was placed in Slytherin.  
  
Eventually, "Wright, Erika," was placed in Hufflepuff and McGonagall picked up the stool and the hat and walked it away.  
  
It was then that Dumbledore stood and welcomed everyone. The food was placed out and everyone ate till they felt like they would burst. If there was one thing Aly had to say she missed most about Hogwarts, would have had to be the food.  
  
Once they had finished and the food was cleared, Dumbledore stood again and dismissed them.  
  
"Gryffindor first years, follow me!" a tall blonde boy yelled.  
  
Aly grabbed Lily's wrist and said, "Come'on!"  
  
"Hello Andrew," Aly said to the boy once she and Lily had reached him.  
  
"Aly," he smiled. Aly noticed he still had a slight scar under his left eye where he had gotten hit during a fit he and another 3rd year had had over the, then, nine year old Aly.  
  
"I'm finally here!" she said blissfully.  
  
"Indeed you are," Andrew said with a wicked smile.  
  
Lily kept gasping and "awing" from behind Aly and she soon forgot about Andrew and started pointing things out to Lily.  
  
"That wall there is actually a door. Oh, and that door there is actually a wall. That picture is of my great-great-great-great grandmother, she was a lover with one of the headmaster's here. Just don't mention he has a wife to her, she's still touchy about it even after all these years."  
  
As they arrived at a large picture of a fat lady in a pink, silk gown, Aly announced, "And this is the entrance to the Gryffindor common room."  
  
"Hey!" Andrew said playfully, "It was my job to say that."  
  
Aly flashed him a smile as Sirius mimicked, "It was my job to say that," James and him laughed, but Aly shot them both a look and they both fell quiet.  
  
They climbed inside and were instructed where to go to get to their bedrooms.  
  
As Andrew wished Aly a good night, she caught sight of Sirius eyeing Andrew wickedly.  
  
She, Lily, and all the other girls climbed to their bedrooms and as Aly lay down on her bed to go to sleep, she couldn't help but think that things in her life were finally going right.  
  
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Hey, guys! What did you think? Please review and let me know what to fix or even ideas of what to add. Thanks a bunch! 


	5. And so it begins

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Disclaimer: Ok, we all know I don't any of the characters you recognize or any of the settings – they are J.K. Rowling's. I do claim Alyson though.  
  
**********************************************  
  
Aly's happiness didn't last long. By the end of the first day, the students who knew her, like Andrew, saw her as a messily first year, below all of them. The students who didn't know her, the first and second years, were all intimidated by her and the power she possessed. So, she lacked the friends and popularity that she thought were guaranteed.  
  
Lily stuck close to her though. Aly thought it had more to do with her being Lily's own personal guide and less to do with wanting to be friends. However, by the end of the first week, no one would be able to tell if it was Lily clinging to Aly or Aly clinging to Lily. They moved from class to class together. They ate meals together. They did their homework together. They stayed up late talking through the curtains on their beds.  
  
Lily told Aly all about being a muggle and all about her family. Lily was the first person Aly ever talked about her mom with. She never had anyone to talk to and Lily became her safe haven.  
  
They were never late to class thanks to Aly's extended knowledge of Hogwarts, but that wasn't the case for any of the other first years. Two particular first years had become determined to find an easier way to their classes by the end of the first week.  
  
On their first Saturday at Hogwarts, while many first years took advantage of the warm weather outside, Sirius Black was found at a round table in the corner of the common room surrounded by stacks of books. It wasn't long until James Potter came stumbling in carrying even more books.  
  
As Sirius helped him collect all the spilt books, they discovered they were both after the same thing and James sat down with Sirius. They worked tirelessly through the books, searching and finding nothing, throughout the entire day. Not long after midnight did Aly come bounding down the stairs, startling the two boys and Lily, who was doing a muggle crossword puzzle on the couch.  
  
"Where're you running off to?" Lily asked looking back down at her crossword.  
  
"I'm hungry," Aly told her walking towards the portrait.  
  
"You can't just go wandering around the school at this time of night," Sirius interjected.  
  
Aly exhaled loudly through her nose and continued on.  
  
"We can't let you leave," Sirius snapped standing up. "You'll get points taken if you get caught."  
  
She turned quickly and her ponytail whipped around. "I won't get caught," she said simply. "Plus, I'd like to see you stop me," she challenged.  
  
Judging by the look Sirius had in his eyes, James stood up and started around the table so Sirius was within in his reach if it was necessary to grab him.  
  
Over the first week, Sirius and Aly had already had brawls in the common room that sent anyone in distance of them running for cover. They had already destroyed two chairs and caught a table on fire with their fights. So, Lily, having gotten use to the fights, decided to stay out of this one by rolling over onto her stomach and filling in another answer on her puzzle.  
  
"Come'on, Black. Are you going to stop me or are you just full of yourself?"  
  
His faced changed to rage and he started towards her with James dragging behind him. He stopped right in front of her. Aly and Sirius stared at each other. Then suddenly Aly's wand was out and she yelled, "Leghi insu!"  
  
A silver thread shot from her wand and James and Sirius got tangled. They fell to the floor, tied back to back.  
  
"This is not funny!" Sirius yelled as he and James struggle for release.  
  
Lily suddenly pushed herself up on her elbows. "Wicked!" she exclaimed.  
  
"Avagli," Aly said and instantly the two became gagged. Aly curtseyed in front of them and turned to Lily. "Wanna come?"  
  
"Sure," she replied tossing her crossword aside and jumping off the couch. "Later boys!" she called over her shoulder as she and Aly proceeded out of the Gryffindor tower arm in arm.  
  
"Where did you learn to do that?" Lily question once they were on their way.  
  
"I have my ways," Aly replied simply.  
  
They continued down the halls until a noise from a classroom caught their ears. There were voices; Aly could pick two or three. She was pretty sure one of them was her father's. Lily gasped and tightened her hold on Aly. "What are we going to do?" she whispered.  
  
"No prob," Aly laughed back. "Povedra," she whispered pointing her wand straight up. A gold light shot out of it forming an umbrella shape. It then floated down around them and enveloped them. Suddenly Lily gasped even louder.  
  
"Don't let go of me," Aly advised her.  
  
"Well, I cant, you aren't, what did you just do?"  
  
"I just turned us invisible. Not to worry though. I'm pretty sure I know the counter-curse."  
  
"You're pretty sure? Pretty sure?" Lily hissed. "What if you're wrong? We could be stuck like this forever!"  
  
"Lils, chill out. Let's just keep going," Aly said pulling her forward.  
  
They continued past the classroom cautiously.  
  
Dumbledore, McGonagall, and Binns, the history teacher, were conversing around a large piece of paper,  
  
"What are they doing?' Aly wondered aloud.  
  
The three adults turned towards the noise to see an empty doorway. Aly grabbed Lily tightly and started to run.  
  
They entered the front hall and proceeded down a passage way, much like the one that leads to their potions classroom.  
  
Aly stopped them in front of a large picture of a bowl of fruit.  
  
"Where are we?" Lily asked.  
  
"Ritoredra," Aly said with her wand straight up in the air again. The light formed around them again and then shot up into the umbrella shape again. It finally descended into Aly's wand. Lily stood mesmerized.  
  
"Tickle the pear," Aly told her.  
  
"Do what?" Lily asked snapping out her trace.  
  
"Tickle the pear,"  
  
Lily cautiously approached the picture. This should be good Aly thought. Lily extended her finger very slowly.  
  
"It's not going to bite you. Hurry up, someone else might be wondering around." Aly instructed her, looking up and down the hallway.  
  
Lily gently tickled the pear and it began to wiggle and Lily was shocked and it showed on her face. When it turned into a door, she turned to Aly and said, "How did it do that?"  
  
Aly just smiled, shook her head, and pulled the door open. As Aly and Lily climbed into the kitchen, they were greeted by small creature with large pointy ears.  
  
"What are these?" Lily whispers at the creature ushered them in.  
  
"House elves." Aly told her, "Aren't they cute?"  
  
Lily made a face. The creatures weren't exactly what she'd call cute. Aly seeing her facial expression, leaned over and whispered, "So, ugly, they're cute." Lily let out a laugh.  
  
The elves brought them large trays of pastries and danishes and Aly and Lily retreated to the hearth of the large fireplace to eat them.  
  
After they had eaten, Aly asked one of the elves to wrap up two of the danishes for them.  
  
"What for?" Lily asked.  
  
"Peace offering. 'Cause you know, Black and Potter might be a weensy-bit mad at us about being tied up."  
  
"Good idea!" Lily exclaimed.  
  
They were sitting there, enjoying the feeling of being full and the warmth of the fire, when a house elf came flouncing up to them.  
  
"Alyson Patricia,"  
  
Aly turned, horror-struck, to face the rather old looking house elf.  
  
"What would your father say if he knew you were down here?" the elf asked putting her tiny hand on her hips.  
  
"He'd probably ask to join us," Aly said trying to crack a joke.  
  
"Well, we'll see won't we?" the elf replied, turned, then stormed away the best her small legs would let her.  
  
Lily watched the elf and then turned back to Aly. She seemed perplexed by the apparent relationship between the elf and her friend.  
  
"She learned how to do that from me," Aly said motioning to the fit the elf was throwing.  
  
"Who was that?"  
  
"Muggles have, hm, what do you call them," she paused for a moment trying to remember what the correct word was. "Nannies," she finally said. "Well, that's my equivalent to a nanny."  
  
"That thing is your nanny?"  
  
"Tipsy, actually."  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"Her name is Tipsy. Well, actually, it's Tipsily, but I can't stand that name. Plus, I couldn't say it as a baby. So, she's Tipsy."  
  
Lily suppressed a laugh at the thought of the severe looking elf being called Tipsy. She turned to face Aly and then for some reason they both started laughing, startling all the elves in the kitchen.  
  
They thanked the elves, grabbed the danishes for the two boys, and started back towards their common room.  
  
Aly put the invisibility charm on them again and as they walked, they passed Dumbledore being dragged, by Tipsy, towards the kitchens.  
  
"Wicked little thing ain't she?" Lily said after they passed them.  
  
"You have no idea," Aly told her bitterly.  
  
They reached the portrait of the Fat Lady, who let them in without opening her eyes. They had accepted to see James and Sirius sitting right where they had left them except they weren't there. In fact, they there was no one in the common room except them. Although, technically, it appeared empty because they were both still invisible.  
  
"Where'd they go?" Lily asked Aly loudly.  
  
Lily let go of Aly to investigate and as Aly made a reach for Lily, to keep her close so she could lift the spell, there was a loud bang.  
  
James and Sirius jumped out of the puff of smoke they had created. Aly and Lily coughed and the boys looked around for them.  
  
"What the?" Sirius asked at the same moment James said, "Where are they?"  
  
They both had their wands drawn, ready to attack and both looked around confused.  
  
"Don't hide from us," Sirius called out.  
  
"Lily, don't move!" Aly called out and the two boys jumped. Aly, who was still holding the two danishes, had a sudden idea.  
  
She slowly made her way towards the two boys. She got right behind them and she reached around them and smashed the two danishes right into their faces. They didn't know what hit them. They both let out a yelp and Sirius swung behind him just to wrap around and smack James. As he bent down to help James up, Lily came running over to the mass and ran into something solid that wasn't there.  
  
"Aly?" Lily asked the air. An arm flung around her and she heard Aly say, "Ritoredra."  
  
The spell lifted and they stood ready, wands pulled out, for the boys counter-attack.  
  
As James stood, he and Sirius wiped the mess out of their faces. "Oh, it's on," Sirius said in a low hiss.  
  
With a screech, Lily and Aly darted off. They began to chase each other around the common room. It was a playful chase as they shot water from their wands, chucked pillows at each other, and knocked over chairs.  
  
Sirius had just tackled Aly to the floor, holding her down, when a voice called down the steps, "What's going on down there?"  
  
All four of them stopped. Aly looked up at Sirius and Sirius looked down at Aly and they both declared at the same time, "Run!"  
  
They sprinted off towards their rooms. Lily and Aly only made it so far though. It seemed the two boys had planned on this happening and had greased the steps. They both slid back down. "Uh-oh," Aly said simply as the perfect appeared; Andrew, in fact.  
  
"Come along," he said sharply.  
  
Aly sent a regretful look at Lily. Not because she was upset they got caught, but because Sirius and James had gotten away.  
  
************************************************************  
  
"What were you thinking?" Dumbledore asked pacing around his office.  
  
Lily, totally petrified, sat staring at her hands. They were both dripping water onto the chairs and down onto the floor.  
  
McGonagall stood in the corner looking very disapprovingly at the two girls.  
  
"Why?" Dumbledore asked when neither girl answered his first question.  
  
Both girls remained silent.  
  
"Who else was involved in this?"  
  
Both girls' heads shoot up.  
  
"Ah, I see I may just get some answers now."  
  
"Why do you think we weren't acting alone?" Aly questioned him.  
  
"We found a trail of water up to the first year's dormitory. All the boys were asleep and dry though," McGonagall told them.  
  
"We acted alone," Aly said loudly and determinedly. "And if we didn't, do you really think we'd rat out our fellow 'delinquents'?" she asked turning to her father.  
  
Dumbledore studied Aly then turned towards Lily, who was looking at Aly as if trying to calculate why she wasn't telling on the boys. She turned to Dumbledore and said, "We acted alone."  
  
Dumbledore frowned and then sighed and announced, "Detention."  
  
The girls looked at him and he said, "You may go."  
  
Professor McGonagall followed them back to the Gryffindor tower. As they entered she told them, "And I expect you to clean up your . . ." Her sentence fell short since the room was already clean.  
  
"Worked alone?" she inquired.  
  
Aly smiled at her and said, "Good night Professor."  
  
She and Lily walked up the freshly ungreased stairs to their bedrooms.  
  
************************************************************  
  
The next morning while the two of them were eating breakfast, Sirius and James took the seats next to them.  
  
"You rat us out?" Sirius whispered.  
  
"Well, good morning to you too," Aly replied.  
  
"Answer the question," Sirius demanded.  
  
"Has McGonagall talked to yet today?"  
  
"No,"  
  
"Then you're free," Aly told him. "But I do think she has a suspension it was you."  
  
Sirius nodded to James who was eating already.  
  
James looked up and with a mouth full of food replied, "Awh-rye." They both stood, Sirius announced, "Later," and they both made their way out of the hall together, James still holding his plate of food, whispering about something.  
  
Lily made a face and said, "So, their friends now?"  
  
"I suppose," Aly said, then added, "I have a really bad feeling about that."  
  
"A bad feeling about them being friends?" Lily questioned.  
  
"Yeah, something tells me that nothing good can come from it. Nothing good at all."  
  
**********************************************  
  
TA-DA!!!  
  
Chapter 5 over and out. Hope you enjoyed it, if you did, drop me a word. That's right, just take your mouse and just move it over to that little box and click review. Hey, even if you didn't like it, tell me. "The truth shall set you free." So, why keep all you're feelings for the story bottled up, let'em out. Constructive criticism, gotta love it.  
  
Later days! 


	6. Of Birthdays and Visions

Disclaimer: see past chapters

ok, 'sup my noble readers? How are all of you. Ok, so I know I haven't updated in like forever, but I got busy. Ok, so I'm lying, I got lazy, but I'm putting up like 3 chapters. So, enjoy!

Dedication: To me! Because there's only 11 days 'til my birthday! So, as a birthday present for you, here's the next chapter.

XxXxX

Aly's gut feeling proved to be true by the next day.

James and Sirius had set up a trap outside of the Slytherin common room. Whenever a student would come out they'd get covered with garbage. It was actually a pretty good prank until Professor Stevens, head of Slytherin, had it happen to him. James and Sirius were sentenced to their first of many detentions to come.

Aly felt so bad when the two sucked in a third meme r to their party. The sandy-haired boy, Remus Lupin, was suddenly seen with the two trouble makers. Apparently, he had given them an idea to make all the food on the Slytherin table float out of reach whenever someone went to reach for it. From then on, he was one of them.

Since there were five beds in their dorm and John Grayson had a twin brother who was in Ravenclaw and therefore never hung out with the Gryffindors that left on lone boy. That boy was Peter Pettigrew. He was a small, mousy looking boy. It was James who had drawn him into the group. (A/N: no, James, no!) He had found him drawing pictures on a fogged up mirror in the bathroom one day during break. Sirius and Remus were both rather reluctant about letting him into the group since he wasn't very bright and he was very clumsy. However, James won out in the end and soon after it wasn't a rare sight to see the four trekking around random places in the school or pouring over books looking for new charms and spells.

Lily and Aly had also picked up a third member for their group. Melanie Burwell had friends in other houses, but when curfews took effect she was left alone in the common. Lily was the first ot approach her, which surprised Aly since Lily was always so shy. Soon the three had become friends. Melanie ate with them and did homework with them; otherwise, it was just Aly and Lily left alone to take on the four boys, who, it seemed, had decided to make it their mission to pester Aly to her breaking point. Which really didn't take much.

The boys, mostly James and Sirius since Peter was so stupid and Remus so laid-back, spent most of their evenings in the detention. This didn't seem to bother them, though, because the teachers hadn't quite picked up on the fact that they should separate them. Evening detentions became their planning times. Aly had secretly agreed with filch when he said they should be hung from their toes in the dungeons.

What bothered Aly most was that since James and Sirius had spent so much time with her father, they seemed to think that since they were on speaking terms with him that they were on speaking terms with her also. It also bothered her that they always seemed to know where he was when he left the school and she didn't.

XxXxX

It wasn't long before Aly had forgotten about her disappointment from the beginning of the school year. As, September turned into October, and the warm weather turned colder, she was so happy with her life and so caught up in her school work, she wasn't even aware of what day it was.

So she never even noticed when October 13 rolled around.

"Happy Friday the 13th!" James announced to the Great Hall as he entered.

"Oh! I hate days like this!" Lily moaned covering her ears with he hands.

"What do you mean?" Melanie asked.

"Everything seems to go wrong on days like this," Lily mumbled.

"Hello ladies!" James exclaimed as he sat down next to Lily.

"See what I mean," she moaned.

Aly smiled and turned to see Remus and Peter sit down by Melanie and was caught by surprise when a bouquet of fresh daisies fell into her face. She turned to see Sirius smiling.

"Happy Birthday!"

"Is it?" Aly gasped.

"Yeah, October 13."

"How did you know?" she asked skeptically, taking the flowers.

"Well, I spend enough time in your dad's office, so I've come to see it as what's his, is mine. This includes a little book with certain important things in it, like, well, like his only child's birthday," he said sinking down next to her and watching her. "A girl only turns 12 once, you know."

"How did you know that daisies are my favorite?" she asked smelling the flowers.

"Really?" Sirius sat up straight and smiled looking very proud of himself. "Well, I just figured pretty flowers for a pretty girl." He rubbed his neck and ducked his head almost bashfully. He peeked up her as she studied him through narrowed eyes.

"You're going to hit me with the flowers now, aren't you?" he asked scrunching up his face as if to prepare himself for the hit he thought was coming.

"And waste such pretty flowers on you? No, don't think so." She looked back at the flowers. "It was really s-sw-sweet," she wrinkled her nose and added, "I can't believe I just said that about you."

"Neither can I," Sirius said turning back towards his plate, but sneaking another look at Aly from the corner of his eye.

Aly giggled and after realizing what she had just done, covered her mouth and whispered, "Stop flirting with me!" and pushed Sirius' shoulder.

"Me flirting with you? I think not Miss Dumbledore," he replied with a smile. They both smiled at each other for a moment until James bellowed, "Awww! What a touching moment!"

Aly turned to see that they were being watched. Lily and Melanie made kissing noises.

"Stop, Aly exclaimed swinging the flowers at Lily. Lily grabbed them and said, "What's the occasion?"

Sirius looked around Aly and answered puzzled, "Aly's birthday."

Lily looked shocked. She even dropped the flowers. "Your birthday?" she squeaked. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"It's no big deal," Aly replied airily picking up the flowers. "My birthday's never been a real big deal. That's why I didn't tell anyone."

"Well, you obviously told_ him_," Lily proclaimed.

"Actually, no," Aly snapped. She wasn't sure why Lily's reply had upset her, but she had a bad feeling it had something to do with the way she has said 'him.' She pushed the feeling aside. "He found out on his own. And like I said, it's not a big deal." She turned towards Sirius, "Thank you again for the flowers." She stood, grabbed her books, and left the hall. She needed fresh air, badly; something about what had just happened had upset her.

XxXxX

Black. That was all she could see. There, in the distance: blurs, colorful blurs. There were screams and a flash of bright green light. Then it was over. Everything came back into focus. She was on her back in the middle of the hallway.

"Are you alright, dear?" an elderly witch in a portrait asked her.

"I'm fine," she mumbled before running off to the library.

XxXxX

"Hey!"

Aly looked up over her book. "Look, the flowers were really nice, but it's not a free pass to bother me. So, please, just go away. I'm studying."

"Geeze, what crawled up your butt and died?"

Aly looked up at the boy, "What?"

"Anyways," he said shaking his head and sitting down, "That's what I wanted to talk to you about."

"My butt or you bothering me?" Aly asked frowning.

"No, studying, but we'll have to come back to your butt," Sirius said raising his eyebrows and smirking.

"Ha, ha," Aly replied sarcastically.

"Hey, you set yourself up for that one."

She rolled here eyes and looked back down at her book.

"Ok," he said, "I'm stuck on potions."

She looked back up and him and he stuck out his lower lip and let out a whimper.

"Fine, let me see your notes."

He handed her his notebook and she flipped it open. "What's this?"

"What?"

"This isn't potions, it's a couple maps of classrooms."

"Oh, uh," he snatched the notebook from her hands and stammered, "I guess, um, well, see the thing is, I forgot my potions notebook in the common room." He looked rather upset with himself for letting her see the drawings.

"Fine, let's go get them." She snapped her book shut and stood, gathering her things.

She started towards the door, and turning saw he was watching her walk away.

"You coming?" she snapped.

"Oh, yeah," he said jumping up and following her.

As they walked back towards the common room, Aly could tell Sirius was holding something back. He kept looking at her weirdly and then twitching the corner of his mouth, almost as if he was fighting not to say something.

"What?" she asked irritably.

"Don't bite my head off, ok?" he started.

She stopped and turned to face him. "Go on."

"Well," he looked for a moment as if he really didn't want to say what he had on his mind, but then he blurted out, "What the hell is your problem? I mean no offenses, but since yesterday, you've been really bitchy. I mean more then usual anyways."

Aly stopped short. Her eyes clouded and her shoulders slacked. She turned, walked over to the wall, and after dropping her bag, slid down it onto her butt.

"What's wrong?" his voice had changed. He came and sat down next to her.

"I had a thing happen yesterday."

"What do you mean?" he asked, "Like a thing thing or a girl thing? 'Cause if it's a girl thing, I can't real help you. I mean I could try, but --"

"No, it was just, well, it was weird thing," she explained closing her eyes and leaning her head back.

"Care to explain?"

"I had a, well, it was like, hmm, well, like a vision."

"What kind of vision?" She could feel him watching her intensely.

"Like of the future. Well, I think it was I'm not sure. It was kinda blurry." She opened her eyes and looked over at Sirius. He studied her and looked as if he didn't really believe her.

"You can laugh if you want. You can call me nuts too because I probably am."

"I believe you," he said even though his voice told her he didn't. "Its just, you mean you saw the future?"

"Yeah, sorta, I guess. I'm not sure. It was something, though."

They sat silently for a while. "What did you see?" Sirius ventured.

"I dunno, but I'm sure I saw something and I know it made my insides crawl."

Sirius nodded.

"And then after it, Lily kept being a pain abut the whole birthday thing!" Aly cried.

"Oh, yeah, about that." Sirius said uncomfortably, "There's a surprise party up in the common room for you. Lily went all out for it too. She even got James to steal food for her from the kitchens. But you don't have to go if you don't want. I can tell her I couldn't find you or something."

After a moments hesitation, Aly said, "Alright, I guess I'll go. She'll be mad if I don't."

They both stood up and started towards the common room together.

"Promise you won't say anything about the whole vision thing," Aly asked trying to sound casual about it, but Sirius could here a note of pleading.

"As long as you act surprised," Sirius responded.

Once they reached the Fat Lady, Aly took a deep breath and said, "Let's get this over with," and climbed through the hole in the wall.

XxXxX

Ok, there's chapter . . . what am I on now? Oh, right, there's chapter six. I hope you enjoyed it. Once again I have to ask that you bear with any spelling or wrong words and that you please REVIEW. That's the bet part of writing these things. Ok, over and out.


	7. Again and the Infamous Name

Disclaimer: yeah, yeah. We all know this; I don't own anything you recognize. They are J.K.'s. yadda-yadda.

Dedication: To everyone, summers over! Where the hell did it go?

But especially to the _**class of 2005**_,

because in_ **3** **days**_ we will rule the school!

XxXxX

Aly had to admit that the party had been fun. There was lots of food and laughter, but in the back of her mind the numbing feeling of the vision still lurked. To make matters worst, it seemed to intensify when James and Lily started arguing over which was more important: Quidditch or studying.

Sick of the argument after only a few moments into it, Aly had decided to go to bed. Sirius stopped her and made sure she was alright. When she said sure, he gave her a weird one-arm hug and she got a funny feeling her stomach.

During the next week, Aly did her best to keep extra busy. When she wasn't studying or doing homework or in class, she played chess with Remus, watched Quidditch practice with James, and even helped Filch clean up the messes from the boy's pranks. However, one evening, only a week after the first, she had the same vision.

This time she was just at the entrance to her father's office. She got up and felt slightly relieved that it hadn't happened in front of him. She had been planning on meeting Lily and Remus in the library, but instead she turned and headed straight to the common room to find Sirius.

She found him in a back corner, whispering to James over some scraps of paper. She cleared her throat to get their attention. Both jumped and James instinctively swept the papers down into his lap to shield them.

"What?" James snapped.

"I want to talk to you," she said ignoring James and looking at Sirius.

The two boys shared a quick glance and Aly lead on, "It's urgent."

Sirius looked at the pleading look in Aly's eyes and said to James, "Later."

He put his arm around Aly's shoulders and led her away, leaving James with an open mouth.

He steered silently out of the common room, down through, the front hall, and outside onto the dark grounds.

"Again?" he asked once they had reached the lake.

She looked at him, surprised. Then said weakly, "Yes."

He sank onto the soft sand of the shore. She sat down next to him. He seemed very deep in thought and Aly decided it was best not to interrupt him.

"There only seems to be one alternative to me and you aren't going to like it," he told her.

"What?"

"Go tell your dad," he said looking at her.

"WHAT?!? Oh, hell no! Are you out of your mind? I just came from his office and he was lecturing me about not going to bed early enough. Can you imagine what he'll have to say if I tell him I'm fainting and then seeing things? I mean, come'on! I – why would I – I mean – for the love of . . ."

"Look, calm down. I can't think of anyone else who would know how to help you," he said calmly grabbing hold of her shoulders.

"He'd probably think I'm just lying."

"No he won't. He'd believe you. I do, and I'm your worst critic. If you can convince me, you can convince him."

She looked at him. He looked so calm, so collected, so uncharacteristically serious.

"No, she said firmly. "Maybe it's just all in head. Maybe I'm making it all up. I'll just ignore it. Maybe it'll just go away."

"If you wanted to ignore it, why did you come get me then?" he asked.

"Because I just need someone to talk too."

"Why not Lily?"

"I haven't told Lily. You're the only one who knows."

"Really?" he said raising one eyebrow and smirking.

Aly's temper began to rise. "Look, it doesn't mean anything," she said through clenched teeth. "You just happened to be the first person I saw after it happened."

"Riiight," Sirius drawled smirking.

"Shut up," she said pushing his shoulder and they both fell silent. That seemed to happen a lot when she was around him.

"Well, alright," Sirius said getting up. "I must go."

"Okay," Aly said standing up too. "I'll see you later, my mysterious marauder."

"Marauder?" he questioned.

"Yeah, it means like prowler. I know it was you who tried to sneak up into the girls dorm last night," she said with a smile.

"Marauder, huh?" he thought for moment. "Ok, anyways, later."

He turned to leave, but Aly grabbed hold of his sleeve. "Oh, and remember --"

He cut her off and whispered into her ear, "My lips are sealed." He then grinned and jogged back towards the castle, right past the group of girls who had gathered around the open door, trying to investigate who was outside.

Aly shivered and pushed the feeling of his breath on her ear from her mind. She seemed to be doing that a lot lately too. She sighed before setting off the library to see if Lily and Remus were still there, ignoring the girls who giggled and pointed as she passed.

XxXxX

what'cha think?

Ok, I'm tired now, it's 1:14 am and as any of my friends would tell you, it's well past my bed time. So, I'm off, to let my head be filled with visions of sugar plums and such.

_**REVIEW!!!**_


	8. Gifts i'm sure you've heard of and summe...

Disclaimer: Aly's mine, no one else is. But, you already know that.

Dedication: To my chairs. They are really nice to sit on even though I don't talk to them. You'll understand later.

XxXxX

"He's sooo cute," Lily whimpered.

Aly looked up over her book. "Not really," she said judging the Ravenclaw both Lily and Melanie were looking at.

"Oh, what do you know?" Melanie said before falling deep into conversation with Lily over who was generally cuter: Ravenclaw's or Hufflepuff's.

Aly rolled her eyes and turned back to her homework. She had started falling behind since Christmas break and was trying to catch up.

She had had the best Christmas of her life and with all the excitement that had gone on, it was easy to tell why she had fallen behind.

To start with, the day everybody left to go home, all the gates around the school seemed to seal themselves, letting no one out. Basically, the whole school ended up in the snow on the front lawn to observe what happened. Eventually, Dumbledore had to come down and lift the sealant charm. As the spell lifted, a glowing message appeared. It floated high above the on-lookers. It said: Happy Holidays! From your friendly school Marauders.

Aly knew without looking at the grinning four boys behind her who had put it up. She shook her head and laughed silently; knowing that it was her doing that the name had come around.

She turned and walked back up into the school and whispered to Sirius as she passed, "Friendly Marauder, my ass."

He grinned at her as she continued to walk away.

Aly spent the holidays at Hogwarts with Sirius, Lily, and, much to his mother's disappointment, James. The four of them had the entire Gryffindor tower to themselves since everyone else had gone home.

Even though James and Lily did seem to fight a lot more with less people around, Aly enjoyed their company, especially since she was used to spending a brief Christmas morning with just her dad.

Aly had somewhat of a guilty pang when she had given James and Sirius their Christmas gifts. She had a feeling she would be causing a whole lot more chaos around the school, but the looks on their faces instantly removed the feeling.

For James, Aly had brought a very rare and very valuable Invisibility cloak. And for Sirius, a set of two-way mirrors which were able to connect whoever was holding the mirrors by simply saying their name.

The boys had started tormenting the girls as early as Boxing Day. Lily had told Aly that if she ever found out who bought the boys those gifts, she said she suspected they had bought the gifts for each other, she would kill them. After that, Aly decided it was best not to tell Lily she was responsible for the presents.

As more people started returning from break, the common room got louder, and Aly got more restless. So, there went the promise to herself to do her homework once Christmas was over.

And there she was. The middle of January and she still had holiday homework to do. Many of the teachers said they understood that the stress of the holiday's caused homework to back up sometimes, but Aly knew it was simply because she was their boss' daughter that she was cut some slack. Normally, she hated being treated different from the rest of the students, but this was one time she was glad of it.

She was interrupted from her studying when Remus came and sat down next to her.

"Are you okay?" she asked seeing that his face was very pale.

"What? Oh, uh, yeah," he mumbled looking down at his empty plate.

"Are you sure?" Aly questioned.

"Yeah, I, just" he turned to look at her. He seemed to struggle with something and then smiled weakly, "I'm just over worked."

"Alright, if you say so." Aly sighed and turned back to her work. If she was feeling over worked looking at a pile of homework as tall as Hagrid, then she didn't even want to try and imagine what Remus had on his plate.

XxXxX

"Dad," Aly said peaking into his office.

He looked up at her and replied, "What can I help you with, Alyson."

She moved into the room and stopped short when she saw Sirius and James sitting in front of her father's large desk. She stood and starred at them. She had never actually seen her father disciplining anyone.

"You needed something," Dumbledore said breaking Aly's brief silence.

"Oh, yeah. I wanted to talk to you about summer break, but it can wait," she explained still looking at the two boys.

"Well, these two could take a while, so, maybe you could just talk about it now."

"_Ohhhkay_," she said slowly. "I wanted to go to Lily's for the summer. She invited me and I really want to go."

She turned her attention back to her father, waiting for what he had to say. He didn't look to happy about the idea.

"I'm sure the Evans family would be happy to have you, but perhaps it would be best if you just –"

She cut him off, "Just sit at home, alone, all summer and be terribly miserable until I either go insane and begin talking to the chairs or until school starts again."

"Well--"

The two stared at each other, neither wanting to cave into the other.

"Fine," Dumbledore said, breaking. Aly beamed at him.

"Thanks, daddy!" Aly exclaimed and ran over and kissed him on the cheek.

She basically skipped to the door, and just before leaving, turned and said, "By the way, I'll make this quick for you. I saw them sneak into the Slytherin common room on my way to lunch." She pointed at the two boys who's jaws both fell open, smiled again and chirped, "Bye!"

She felt herself float out of his office and back to the common room. This was going to be the best summer of her entire life. She just knew it.

XxXxX

Ok, this one is short, but here it is. I'm so excited because I've got Aly's 5th, 6th, and 7th year written, so, the more I write, the closer I get to the good chapters. Get my dedication, now? Hopefully, you do.

Randomism: Only two things come from Idaho: potatoes and more potatoes!

Don't ask, I just felt like sharing. Ok, chapter 9 should be along shortly. I've got a little bit of time before school starts, because once it does, I'm going to probably slack off again.

Ok, buh-bye! And remember: live, love, and **_REVIEW!_**


	9. Two discoveries and Quidditch

Disclaimer: yeah, yeah, you know, I know, let's move on.

Dedication: To the chickens in the hallway. It's crazy! It's chicken mania! Bha-bhack!

XxXxX

"Next year, my house," Aly said to Lily once they had crossed through the barrier.

"I'm totally there," Sirius said walking between them.

"Shut up!" Aly exclaimed and pushed him.

"Yea, stop eavesdropping!" Lily yelled as he wondered away laughing. She turned to Aly and said "I'm so sorry about my sister. She can be a pain."

"Understatement of the year," Aly mumbled under her breath as they started off towards the train.

"What?" Lily asked.

"Nothing. Let's just go find a compartment."

Aly hadn't wanted to upset Lily because in all honesty she had loved staying at her house. Her mother had been very loving and sweet, her father was like the father on all the old TV shows, he even looked kinda like Ward Cleaver. Her sister, however, had been above and beyond the word pain. She had made it her mission to make Aly's stay miserable. Aly never really understood why, all she could tell was that Petunia had a real problem with Lily being a witch and an even big problem with her bring home one from school. Aly was so glad to get away form Petunia and hoped she'd never have to hear the word "freak" ever again.

Petunia even made her miss the Marauders. Who happen to decide to come pillaging into their compartment when they had made the last wide turn on the trail to the school.

"Whoops – oh man!" Sirius said slipping in through the door.

The two girls looked up as James and Peter came up behind him.

"What?" Aly asked as Sirius looked at them very upset.

"You aren't naked," he said.

"What?!?" both girls shrieked.

"I was hoping you were changing," he stated simply as he stretched out across from Aly.

"Where's Remus?" Lily asked noticing that he wasn't with them.

"He's sick. He'll be at school in a few days," James explained not looking up from the book he was reading, _Quidditch Through the Ages_.

"You're trying out for the Gryffindor team this year, aren't you?" Aly asked.

"No, I'd never make it. I just like Quidditch," James replied.

Aly nodded and Sirius rolled his eyes.

XxXxX

Remus reappeared in the common room on the second day of classes. He looked more pale than usual, but when Aly asked him what he had he simply smiled and said, "Nothing to terrible."

XxXxX

Quidditch try-outs took place in the second week of school. Sirius, Remus, and James headed down to the pitch a little before sundown. The team was looking for 2 chasers, a beater, and a seeker. Sirius was planning on trying out for all 3 different positions and take whatever he was given. Remus and James planned on just watching.

Aly was already at the pitch, waiting, with her broom. She rolled her eyes as Sirius came bounding towards her.

"You're like an excited puppy, you know that."

"Woof, woof ," he replied sarcastically.

Soon the air was filled with people zooming around the pitch. Madam Hooch was watching as Lynda McDaniels, a 6th year and Gryffindor captain, yelled commands and took notes on players. The sky was glowing red when Lynda yelled for everyone to land.

"Ok, Johnson, you got chaser number 1 and Black, you got chaser number 2. And for our new beater: Aly, that's you."

Aly smiled and Sirius gave her a high five.

"The rest of you can go," Lynda yelled to the group.

She then turned towards the 3 new members of the Gryffindor team. "What we need is a seeker. No one here came even close to being able to catch a snitch. Any ideas?"

Madam Hooch landed not to far away from them and started back towards the locker rooms.

"I've got one," Aly said glancing towards the stands. "Hang on one sec."

She ran over to Madam Hooch. After consulting her for a few moments, Madam Hooch smiled and got back on her broom and shot up into the air.

"What was that about?" Lynda asked.

"Are we going to practice?" Aly questioned ignoring Lynda.

After another suspicious glance at Aly, she yelled, "Let's go. UP!" The entire team shot up in the air.

Madam Hooch flew over to the stands were James and Remus sat.

"You, Potter," she called over to him.

James' head shot up.

"Yes, you. Get out here."

"I'm not here to try out."

"You don't come to Quidditch tryouts and not tryout. So, get out here."

"I don't have a broom,"

"Here," Aly said flying over to them. "You can use mine."

She landed and James came over to her. "Good luck," she said handing him her broom.

He shot up and was soon level with the rest of the team and Aly joined Remus in the stands. James looked rather uneasy. Lynda just looked at his scrawny figure and sighed. "Alright, let's see how you do."

Madam Hooch let out the snitch and James tried to follow it

The team went back to its practice, basically ignoring James. Within 10 minutes the whole team had stopped to watch him though. He dove straight down, grabbed the snitch, and shot back up just in time to avoid smashing into the ground. He kept letting it go, giving it a head-start and then repeating the process all over again. Everyone watched speechless.

"Everyone," Lynda said, smiling, "meet our new seeker."

James stopped, his jaw dropped, but then he smiled. Sirius came zooming over to him, "Go Jamesie," he whooped.

James just turned and looked at Aly. She smiled and then before turning and disappearing down through the stands, he saw her wink.

XxXxX

"Hey, Aly!"

"Hey," she said turning to see James running towards her.

"Here's your broom back."

"Oh, thanks."

They stood silent for a few seconds.

"Ok, well, I'm going to go," Aly finally said.

She started to walk down the hall then James called after her, "Thanks."

She turned and they smiled at each other and then they both turned and walked away.

XxXxX

Aly couldn't help, but notice that Remus was always disappearing, at least once a month she noted. The Marauder's had taken notice too. More than once she had seen them conversing about it and when he returned they always questioned him, but none of them had ever seem to figure out what was wrong with him.

Lily was the first to figure it out though. She had gone to the hospital wing one day in November hoping for a headache reducer potion, "a lot quicker than regular aspirin" she assured Aly, and over heard Madam Pomfry and Professor Dumbledore talking to Remus.

"Are you ready?" Madam Pomfry was asking Remus.

"Yeah," she heard him mumble.

"Now, don't worry. It'll be dark in a few moments and you'll have to move quickly since it's very clear tonight. We don't want the transformation to occur before you're safely in the position."

"Alright," Lily heard Remus mumble as she ran back towards the common room, her headache suddenly gone.

XxXxX

"Transformation?" Aly asked after Lily told her what she had heard.

"What do you think he means by that?" Lily questioned.

"I don't know."

Aly thought about it for a long while, trying to figure it out. She walked over to the window and looked out onto to the dark grounds. She looked up at the clear, black sky, at the bright, twinkling stars, and the large, glowing moon. The large_ full_ moon. It suddenly clicked in Aly's head.

"Lily," she whispered. Lily looked up from her homework.

"Lily, get me a book on human to animal transformations,"

"Why?" Lily asked standing.

"Just go get one. You'll see in a minute."

Lily disappeared through the portrait hole and was back within 10 minutes. Aly was very grateful for Lily's extended knowledge of the library.

Aly took the book, flipped through it until she found what she was looking for.

"He disappears once a month," she whispered.

"What?" Lily asked.

"Come'on," Aly said leaving the common room and heading straight to her father's office.

"He's a werewolf!" she stated slamming the book down on his desk.

He looked at her, looking mildly impressed.

"You think so?"

"Yes, and I want to know why I wasn't informed."

"A werewolf?" Lily asked.

"Indeed, Mr. Lupin is a werewolf. I would ask that you keep it quiet though. He doesn't want this kind of thing spread around."

"I can't blame him," Aly mumbled.

Lily and her left the office not long after and both seemed to have decided not to talk about it because they both walked back in silence.

Aly couldn't believe it. Remus was so kind. It was hard for her to believe that once a month he turned into a violent monster. In fact, she told herself, right now he _was_ a violent monster. She shivered at the thought of him in his werewolf form.

When he returned two days later, Aly noticed that Lily didn't meet his eyes when talking to him. When Remus turned to Aly to ask a question about charms homework, she looked at him and saw the same grey eyes she always saw when she looked at him and they were warm and friendly. She smiled at him and knew exactly was she was suppose to say. "You feeling better?"

"Just fine," he answered smiling his usual smile.

Lily looked at Aly and Aly looked at her. Remus inquired after noticing their looks, "What?"

"Nothing," Lily said quickly looking at him and smiling, "I'm just worried about you. You don't look all that healthy."

"I assure you, I'm fine," he said still smiling, "Now, do either one of you understand this hover charm?"

XxXxX

When Aly looked at Lily, she saw her best friend, the same as she had always been. However, someone else had gotten a new out look on her.

On the second day back, the Marauders were sitting at "their" table in the common room and James dropped his quill. Lily and Aly were walking past and Lily leaned down to pick it up. "Here you go," she said smiling at James as she handed it to him and kept on walking.

He watched her walk away and leaned back on the back two legs of his chair as he stretched to see her go up the staircase. He feel back with a huge crash.

He jumped up and dusted himself and tried to act cool. "Uh, who was that?" he asked.

"Dude, that's Lily," Sirius said.

"She's always been here, remember?" Remus said.

"Oh, really? Wow, she's pretty."

"Ok, whatever, dude," Sirius said shaking his head and laughing.

XxXxX

Ok, like I said, a lot of chapters in a row. What do you think? I wasn't really sure how to bring in the whole James and Lily thing. I don't think James is going to start bothering her about dates until later. He won't get annoy and obnoxious until later either.

Ok, byebyebye.

And do as the little blue box says and **_review_**.


	10. Of soap bubbles and kisses

Disclaimer: Not mine. Never has been, and unfortunately, never will be.

Dedication: To all the people in Florida. Yes, all of them. Happy thoughts towards them because of all the evil hurricanes: Bonnie, Charlie, Ivan, and now Jean. Those hurricanes flooded here too. No Toby for me, :o( It could be worse though. Just keep them in your prayers.

XxXxX

"I'm bored," Aly whined.

"Well, we can go see Hagrid," Lily suggested absentmindedly.

"Okay," Aly exclaimed happily sitting up quickly.

"Let, me finish this really quick," Lily said still scribbling on her piece of parchment.

"Liiiii-lyyyyy!" Aly whined and flopped a pillow down on the couch and fell backwards on to it.

Suddenly, there was a loud bang, like a gun shot, and soap bubbles came oozing down the boys dormitory steps. Everyone in the common turned to look, some even stood up to see what had happened.

"Oh for heavens sake!" Lily yelled and slammed her quill down onto the table. "Let's go." She grabbed Aly by the wrist and drug her out of the common room.

A few minutes later, they had reached Hagrid's door. "'Bout time you come back down to see me," he exclaimed holding a small bundle of black fur.

"Oh, Hagrid, what is that?" Aly cooed.

"Aw, this is Fang. He's my new pup," Hagrid said stroking the puppy's small head.

They settled down at the table and were drinking tea and eating (pretending to eat in Aly's and Lily's case) Hagrid's lump cakes while they talked about school, Dumbledore (much to Aly's displeasure), and Fang. Half-way through their visit, none other than James and Sirius showed up, both were wet and James still had bubbles in his hair.

"I figured it was you," Lily mumbled looking at both of their shabby appearances.

"W'at did you two do?" Hagrid laughed.

"Nothing to major," Sirius said sinking into a chair at the table.

"Oh, please. This is just another one of your vague attempts to get some sort of attention you are deprived of by your home life," Aly snapped, angry at Sirius for some reason. She couldn't explain it, but somehow he had made her mad just now.

Sirius sat up straight, his face set. "What do you mean by that?" he growled through clenched teeth.

"Exactly what I said. Maybe this year you could try growing up," Aly snapped back.

"Whoa, whoa, you two. Chill it, alr'ght," Hagrid interrupted as they both started to stand up.

However, they stayed standing. James and Lily exchanged nervous glances and James blushed and ducked his head.

"If you deinflated your head a little you may be able to see that not everyone finds your stupid little pranks 'cute.' It's unfortunate that my dad finds you funny or else you'd be gone so quick," Aly snarled, her temper up and her fist clenched.

"Well, at least he thinks I'm funny and not a brat like you," he snapped back.

Aly's bottom lip trembled for a slight second and then she turned and stormed out of the cabin, slamming the door behind her.

Sirius looked disconcertedly at the closed door as silence filled the cabin.

"I better go after her," Lily said standing up and leaving.

After a few moments of silence, James said, "We better go too," and stood up. "We'll try and stop by later ok, Hagrid?"

"Oh, yeah. Lat'r on sounds fine," he replied, still looking shocked over the fight he had just witnessed.

The two boys left in silence. They could see the girls silhouettes in the dim moonlight. They were walking by the lake back towards the castle.

Sirius conscience had just hit him hard in the middle of the chest and he turned and said, "I'll catch you later," to James before running off after the two girls.

"Aly, hang on one sec," he yelled, running at them.

Aly stopped and he heard her mumble to Lily, "Go ahead, I'll catch up later."

She turned and faced him; her cheeks tear-stained. "What do you want?" her voice was thick from crying.

"Look, I'm sorry about –"

"No you aren't."

Sirius looked at her, startled. "What? Are you actually telling me I'm not sorry for saying that to you?"

"Yep. You aren't sorry. You're just worried I'll go and cry to my daddy and then you'll be in real trouble." He couldn't see her face, but he knew another tear had fallen down her cheek because it caught the moonlight.

"Look, that's not true. I just feel bad about it."

"No you don't," she argued.

Sirius' temper snapped, "Look! You can't tell me what I feel!"

If she was startled by his yelling she didn't show it. She simply said back, in a calm voice very similar to the one Sirius heard her father use, "Yes, I can." She took a step closer to him.

"Oh you have some nerve. I can't understand –" he was stopped short.

At that moment Aly leaned forward and in the shadows of the moon beside the lake, she kissed him.

When she pulled away, he just stood there, his eyes closed.

"Aly!" a voice echoed across the grounds.

"Coming!" she yelled loudly back, still looking at Sirius. "Bye," she said quietly and turned and ran back towards the castle.

He didn't move until she was out of sight. He gently touched his mouth. They were slightly warm from the kiss. He swallowed hard and whispered, "Oh-no."

XxXxX

.:trumpets sound:. It's done! that only took me forever and it's a short one too! My sincerest apologies, but senior year is not all it's put up to be. To be honest it sucks, but I did apply for my first college today, very cool. So, I hope you enjoyed my little chapter. The next chapter will be a short one so I'll try and get it up soon. Ok, **_review_** for me. It will make me smile and trust me I need something to smile at these days. :o)

_seniors, seniors, how do you feel?_

_we feel . . . uh, well, we don't feel so good, uh!_


	11. Aftermath

Disclaimer: I own nothing pertaining to Harry Potter. However, I do hold the rights of Alyson Dumbledore, if you steal her I may have to report you to the authorities. Ok, maybe I'll just whine about it for a while until eventually I get over it. Happy reading!

Dedication: To Alice Paul and all the other women who worked so hard to get the 19th amendment, women's right to vote, passed. So, to all the 18 year old Americans (i don't know if that's anyone reading this), GO VOTE! It's very important and the greatest liberty you have. I wish I could vote for Bush, but I only just turned 17. _Friends don't let friends vote Democrat_.

Author's Note: I don't put Wormtail in my stories much. I'm sorry if that upsets you, but I don't really think he played a big part in the first few years at Hogwarts. If you really want him in the story just imagine he's there if he's not mentioned.

XxXxX

The next morning Sirius was sitting in common room waiting for James or Remus to come down. He felt he might burst keeping the events of last night to himself. He didn't know what had been running through Aly's mind when she had kissed him and why, of all times, she would kiss him when he was yelling at her. Sirius hadn't seen her yet this morning so he hadn't had any of his questions answered.

James was the first to come stumbling down the steps. He looked totally exhausted. He stopped startled when Sirius stood up to greet him.

He swayed as he said, "Dude?"

"What happened to you?" Sirius asked, concerned.

James shrugged as a girl came flying down the steps in nothing but a sheet.

"Oh," it had just dawned on Sirius what was wrong with James.

Remus appeared in the doorway with a smirk on his face.

"That's what I call entertaining. What happened to him?" he said motioning to James, who was looking around in awe of his surroundings.

"I think he got a memory charmed sent at him," Sirius answered smiling with one of his eyebrows up.

Lily and Aly came down the steps as the boys were talking. James attention turned to Lily. As they two girls walked past the three conversing boys, Aly didn't meet Sirius' eyes and speed up to pass them quickly.

"Wow, you're pretty," James droned at Lily. She looked at him in speculation, her brows contracted in confusion. She opened her mouth to say something, but noticing Aly speed out of the portrait hole, followed her.

XxXxX

Sirius didn't get a chance to talk about Aly with James or Remus. They spent breakfast trying to bring James out of his trance. Not just because he needed to be normal for classes, but because they really wanted him to tell them what he saw.

He didn't get a chance to talk to Aly either. She came into all the classes after him as if to ensure she wouldn't have to sit near him. She wasn't at meals and he didn't see her in the common room until he came down around 1 am to get one of his books so he could find out the countercurse to a charm he had just placed on James, who upstairs laughing his eyes out, unable to stop.

She was sitting alone by the fire, reading a book. Sirius walked over to her and sat down.

"Hey."

She jumped and turned to look at him, "Oh, hi," she said very quietly.

Sirius' throat went dry and he licked his lips and started, "Look, about last night,"

"Oh, yeah, that." Aly waved her hand carelessly in the air. "Sorry about that. It was just a totally maladroit action on my part." She spoke as if she was choosing her words very carefully.

"A what action?" Sirius asked confused by Aly's oversized vocabulary.

"A dumb action, ok," she talked with a very careful patience.

"Dumb?" Sirius gaped at her.

"Yeah, you know. A total, ah -- brain-fart. I wasn't thinking. I'm sorry," she looked up at him and met his eyes for a very brief moment and then turned away before he could see the lies glowing in hers. "I didn't mean to miss lead you." She stood up. "Good-night." With that she turned and ran up the steps as quickly as she could, leaving Sirius in shock.

She stopped in the cool spiral staircase, slid down on to her bottom, and cried.

Back down in the common room, Sirius sat totally dazed. He was sure she had liked him and now he had found out that it was just a "brain-fart". His insides burnt with pain and embarrassment. He didn't move; he just sat there in astonishment.

Around a quarter till two, the portrait hole swung open. A fourth year female walked in and noticing Sirius, came over to him, "Are you alright?" she asked concerned.

He looked at her and then nodded.

"Here," she said beguilingly. He smiled and let her lead him up the boy's steps.

XxXxX

There's an old saying "The wife's always the last to know." Aly wasn't anyone's wife, but the statement held true in this particular case. Something this hot spread quicker than anything Hogwarts had ever seen. The only problem was with the story spreading so fast that everyone had a different version. When it finally reached Aly, she heard such a messed up version that at first she couldn't believe it was true.

She consulted with Lily, who sighed and gave her the actual story, which she had gotten from Remus.

"When did you find out?" Aly asked.

"Breakfast."

"Breakfast!?" Aly exclaimed. "Why didn't you tell me? How dumb do you think I felt finding out in the girl's bathroom after dinner?"

"I didn't want to upset you. I know you like him," Lily replied. When Aly opened her mouth to argue, she stopped her, "And whether or not you admit it, you do."

Aly slumped back in her chair. Kaylynn walked into the common room, chatting happily with her friends, seeming totally fine with the gossip circling around her.

"Slut," Aly mumbled under her breath.

Sirius came down from the boy's dormitory and sat down with the other Marauders. As people passed they pointed and whispered. Aly watched him, feeling that she had brought this upon him somehow.

She ignored the thought and he ignored her.

XxXxX

The next day, Aly had a heat of anger burning inside of her. She felt betrayed.

Her day seemed to get worse when after lunch, Andrew approached her.

"Hey, Al," he started.

"Hey, Andrew."

He put his arm up on the door frame and put his face down close to hers.

"What are you doing next weekend?" he asked and smiled.

"Nothing, why?"

"It's a Hogsmeade weekend and I was thinking I could sneak you in."

"Oh, I don't know," she started, "Maybe."

He smiled at her and then kissed her.

"Bye."

She made a face at him as he walked away.

When she reached the charms classroom, she leaned over to Lily and asked, "Do you have a mint?"

"Why?"

"Andrew kissed me and my mouth fells really icky now" she said sticking out her tongue.

Lily laughed and gave her a peppermint.

XxXxX

"Hey, Aly!"

Aly turned and saw Sirius coming towards her. She hadn't talked to him since their talk two days ago.

"Hey," she smiled.

"Are you going out with Andrew?" he asked without preamble.

She looked at him, "Why?"

"I saw the bastard kiss you and I was just curious to what you saw in that prick," he growled.

Aly looked at him, not sure what to say. When she found her tongue, she snapped at him, "What's it to you?"

"Nothing, never mind." He turned and was gone.

Aly watched him go and stared down the hall even after he was out of sight.

"Go after him," Lily said having witnessed the whole thing. "You know you want to."

After deliberating what Lily had said, Aly turned and said to her, "I'll be back later."

XxXxX

Sirius was sitting by the lake when Aly found him. In fact, almost in the same place they had been in three nights ago.

"Hey," she ventured slowly. He turned and with dark look in his eyes turned back towards the lake.

"So, look, about, what happened?"

"Stop," he said shaking his head.

"I'm not yours," Aly stated. "And if you wanted me to be, you sure have a funny way of showing it."

"Really," he said taking a swig from the bottle he was holding. Aly was to upset to even wonder where he had gotten it from in such a short amount of time.

"Yeah, sleeping with fourth years doesn't exactly say 'Hey, I like you.' I'd prefer flower over that any day." She sat down next to him. "What were you thinking?"

"I dunno," he answered shrugging. "Maybe it was a brain-fart. You know, a

mala-whatever action," he added darkly.

They both just sat quietly after his remark. The only sounds were the gentle rustle of the wind, the soft slapping of the water on the shore, and the occasional swish of the liquid of Sirius' bottle.

Aly, trying to break the ice between them, jokingly asked, "So, was she any good?"

Sirius turned and seeing the odd grin on her face replied, "Eh."

"Really? She was bad?"

"Nah, but I was," he said with bitter honesty.

"Your first time, I suppose."

"Nah," he said.

"Really?" Aly said her eyes going wide.

"Okay," he said seeing her face, "It was, but it sounds cooler if it wasn't."

"Alright," Aly said noting to herself that she'd never understand boy's egos.

They sat silently again until curioustiy took over Aly and she asked, "What was it like?"

"Little pervert, aren't you?" he stated taking a swig of his drink. Aly blushed and had a feeling Sirius knew it.

He rubbed his eyes, yawned, and leaned back onto his elbows. "It wasn't what I expected."

Silence fell again and then Aly asked the real question she wanted answered.

"Why did you do it?"

He could only see the back of her head because she was still sitting up and looking at the lake. He tried to decided from her voice whether he wanted to tell her the truth or not and finally resoluted to tell her the latter.

"Because I can," he stated and stood up. "And I'll do it again if I want." He turned towards the castle and before jetting off said, "Later, Aly."

She watched him run off until he was gone and then she turned back towards the water and watched it dance in the moon light.

She felt like a large weight had just settled into her chest and cursed Sirius for putting it there, not knowing that as he climbed the stair towards the Gryffindor tower, that the same feeling had just set in on him.

XxXxX

Another one! Wow I'm on a roll! I hope you liked it. The other one will be up in due time. I've got really big projects to do for US government and Modern American Issues; so, when I'm done with those I'll be able to start working a bit faster on the chapters.

So, until next time: _Smile and **review** a lot. It cost nothing and is beyond any price._ It's from a fortune cookie, except the review part, I added that.


	12. Lennox and Revelations

Disclaimer: duh.

Dedicated: To my Grandpa. The Depression, 5 wars, hippies, disco, the 80's, 9/11, 62 years with one women, 3 sons, 3 daughter-in-laws, 3 grandchildren, 3 step-grandchildren, 85 years and 13 days; man, that's one hell of a life. God rest his soul. Tawberries!

XxXxX

As their second year came and went, all seven of them had some sort of feat to accomplish. James was not only preoccupied with getting better at Quidditch, but also trying to get Lily's attention. Lily's goal was to ignore him.

Remus, Melanie, and Peter (a/n: yes, he's making an appearance) were trying their best to keep the peace between the groups and keep up on their homework.

Aly and Sirius seemed to be determined to never be left alone together. When they got caught in such moments, they'd always quickly found a way out of them. Since their fight, Sirius had slept with seven different girls and Aly did her best to ignore the fact that they were girls she openly hated.

At the mere age of 12, Sirius had become the schools playboy and soon he became the object of most girls' desire. There was rarely a day when he wasn't cornered in the common room or pulled off into a classroom. If a girl snogged with a boy, she was usually labeled a "slut," but with Sirius a girl wouldn't be named because just about every other girl was envious.

Much to Aly's dismay even Melanie seemed to want to be Sirius' next hook up.

Aly's mind left the whole Sirius thing around January. She was visiting with her dad, something he had request she do once a week, when the Minister of Magic appeared through the fireplace. He started talking very fast about 4 new suspicious deaths. Dumbledore held up his hand to stop him, but he kept on going.

"Dumbledore, who is this Voldemort and how is he doing this?"

"Minister, if you could hold that thought for a moment." Dumbledore told him and turning to Aly said, "Alyson, you can go."

In a sugary-sweet voice, Aly replied, "Oh, but daddy, this is our special time together. I can't just leave. I may not see you again until next Sunday."

"Alyson," Dumbledore warned in a deep tone.

"Fine," she said slamming her book shut and leaving.

While that conversation she heard in her father's office didn't bother her, Aly realized the next day that this Voldemort was a serious threat when a name of one of the dead people jumped out at her from the paper. Lennox Johansson danced in front of her in bold, black ink. Aly felt a lump form in her throat. She looked up at her father and saw that he was talking to McGonagall very seriously and he looked very grave. He turned and caught her eye. He nodded at her and stood and strode out of the Great Hall.

Aly, taking his hint, got up and followed.

The gargoyle was moved when she arrived at his office and she ran up the revolving staircase. Her father was looking out his window at the grounds below when she got there. She was out of breath and as soon as he turned and he looked at her, tears started falling from her eyes quickly and she began to shake. He was at her side instantly and wrapped his arms around her. She cried for a long while and he just held her quietly except for the soft hushing noise he kept making, which was very soothing to her. Aly heard a rustle of wings and a loud cry which made her insides warm. She pulled apart from her father and her pet phoenix, Fawkes, tilted his head and let out another cry and Aly smiled.

"That's better," Dumbledore said softly.

Aly wiped her face with the back of her hand. "Yeah," she sniffed and then looked up at her father, "Why him?"

Dumbledore turned and walked behind his desk. Aly had always loved it when he sat behind the desk. It was large and when he sat behind it he radiated a strong force of power that Aly admired. She had once crawled up into the chair when she was young and was highly disappointed when she didn't feel any more powerful. She had smashed the chair into pieces after that. And now, long past the chairs initial repair, her father sat in it and glowed in all his glory.

"Lennox was known to be close to me," Dumbledore started.

"So?" Aly asked impatiently sitting down quickly in the chair facing him. Fawkes came zooming at her and landed lightly on her knee. She stroked his head as she waited for her fathers answer.

Dumbledore looked at her for a moment and then continued. "We are entering dark times, Aly. Voldemort—"

"Who is he? And what did he have to do with Lennox?" Aly interrupted.

"He is a powerful wizard who is looking for race purification."

Aly looked at him trying to understand what he was saying.

"He wants all pure-bloods," Dumbledore explained. "Absolutely, no muggle borns. And he's willing to do all means necessary to make that happen. He'll kill anyone who gets in his way."

Aly's eyes went wide, "You don't really think he's that powerful do you?"

She paused for a brief moment to let him answer, but not long enough for him to actually say anything because she suddenly gasped, "Lily's a muggle born!"

"I know and so was Lennox," Dumbledore replied calmly. "A powerful one at that. He was said to be the next Minister of Magic. He knew just about everyone in the ministry and was held at great esteem and Voldemort knew this. He could easily convince many wizards that Voldemort had to be stopped. And Voldemort didn't want him doing that."

"But what's that got to do with knowing you?" Aly asked feeling tears well in her eyes again at her father's words.

"I knew Tom, that's Voldemort's given name, I knew him while he was here at Hogwarts. He was a prefect and Head Boy. He disappeared and has now reappeared in his new state. He knows that I will do everything in my power to stop him before he gets too many followers."

"How does he know that?" Aly asked.

"Because I told him," Dumbledore said simply.

Aly looked at her father in confusion. "You told him?" she asked with skepticism.

"I went and saw him and told him to beware and then he started throwing what I assumed as only empty threats,"

"Assume makes an ass out of you and me," Aly said simply.

"Yes it does because he proved me wrong. Lennox was my best friend for almost my whole life, Aly. I went to school with him. I valued his friendship above almost all my others and that's why I named him your godfather, and because of that he was taken from us." Dumbledore shook his head and looked down at his desk.

"What other threats did Voldemort make?" Aly questioned. She felt a sudden weakness when her father looked back up at her. He looked helpless even from behind his desk. Aly had never seen him like this before.

"He said the things I love most will be the first to go."

Aly listened to these words and they slowly started to sink in; the things he loves most--that meant her.

She couldn't voice this aloud, but they had one of their rare connective moments, where they both looked at each other and it was as if their thoughts overlapped without a word said. Aly always thought it was because her dad could read minds, but tonight it hit her that it was because they thought so much a like and so often had the same train of thoughts.

He nodded at her and said, "I think you should head off to class. You missed your first one. Charms, I believe."

She stood up and so did he. "Watch out for yourself." he said quietly. "Come see me if you see or hear anything odd."

"I will," she said almost automatically. She walked to the door of his office as she opened it and was about to walk out he called out to her, "I love you, Aly."

She turned and looked at him. There would have been no doubt in anyone's mind that it was true because he wore the emotion on his face.

"I love you too, Dad."

XxXxX

She arrived at Transfiguration ten minutes late and slipped silently into her seat. McGonagall said nothing to her, but paused slightly in her lesson. She continued once Aly had sat down.

"Wait," James called out. McGonagall turned and looked at him. Her lips pursed tightly together.

"What is it, Mr. Potter?"

"Why is it that I came in 3 minutes late and I got this big long, droning speech, that just kept going on and on and on—"

"Will you please get to your point," McGonagall snapped.

"Yeah, I got yelled at for 3 minutes. She's," he looked down at his watch, "She's 12, no 13 minutes late for class and you completely ignore her."

When McGonagall said nothing, James said, "That's not fair treatment of students. Just because she's the headmasters daughter doesn't mean she should get out of class. I mean that's not fair and it's—"

"My godfather died," Aly snapped starring straight ahead at the board.

James stopped talking and turned to look at her. The whole class seemed to turn and look at her.

"Oh—"

"So," Aly said turning to McGonagall, "Porcupines to pushpins today?"

McGonagall, picking up on Aly's changing of the subject, started back on her lecture on the transformation.

Lily leaned over to Aly, "Are you ok?"

"Yeah," Aly whispered. "I think this is about as good as I'm going to feel for a while."

XxXxX

Aly had never been to a funeral before and hoped she'd never have to go to another one ever again.

Lily accompanied her since they had to take the carriages. It had been a surprise to Aly when she had walked in to Dumbledore's office and had seen Lily and her father waiting for her. They didn't talk much during the ride there. Lily would occasionally ask a question about something pertaining to Lennox and Dumbledore would politely answer them. Aly, however, remained silent.

The funeral was short and packed with ministry workers. After they had all paid their respects, Aly and Dumbledore made their way out to the grave site. Lily left them off alone. Aly said nothing as they lowered the casket into the ground. She just threw a daisy on top of the casket and a single tear fell from her eyes.

Dumbledore sent Lily and Aly back to the castle without him. He said that the greeting and talking to people afterwards may be too hard for Aly. They made it back just in time to eat lunch. Aly walked silently into the Great Hall and sat down. Lily started eating without a word.

"You should eat, Aly."

"I'm not hungry."

"That doesn't mean you shouldn't eat."

"Lily," Aly said with a note of desperation in her voice, "Please just drop it."

Lily fell silent and continued to eat, stealing glances at Aly every few bites. A draft of cold air swept through the hall and four boys came bouncing into the hall. They walked past Aly and Lily, but one of them doubled-back.

"Aly, are you ok?"

Aly just shrugged and continued to stare down at her empty plate. Remus sat down next to her.

"The funeral was today wasn't it?" he asked.

Aly looked up at him and whispered, "Yea." For some reason, looking into his calm grey eyes, it shook something in her and the tears that had been welling up inside of her all day burst through and she started bawling. Somehow she ended up in his arms and he was patting her on the back.

When her crying turned into dry sobs, she looked up and took in the scene around her. Lily was standing up looking terrified, James and Peter were whispering and starring at her, and Sirius had stood up and looked as if he had frozen in air. He looked very perturbed by the scene before; Aly couldn't tell if it was because she was crying or because she was crying on Remus' shoulder. Aly made eye contact with him and he stood up straight and she pushed away from Remus quickly. They held the eye contact and something sparked inside of Aly's chest.

She jumped up, mumbled some excuse about unfinished homework, and stumbled out of the hall unaware of where she was going. All she knew was she had to leave. Half way up the steps, though, she felt a hand grab her arm.

"Aly," Sirius started.

"No, don't," Aly said pulling away from him.

His grasp tightened on her arm though. "Come'on," he said pulling her up the steps. "We need to talk."

XxXxX

May the trumpets sound because it is complete! Sorry it took so long, but senior year is a killer, but good news is I got into college .:happy dance:.

I hope you enjoyed it. More to come soon, hopefully. Okay, have lovely day!


	13. Strange Situations

Disclaimer: not mine.

Dedication: to all the Veterans. Without them I couldn't write this. I couldn't say what I want to say or believe what I want to believe. Freedom isn't free.

XxXxX

Aly's hand drug along the smooth stone wall of the castle. The chill the school emitted, especially in the dungeons, was always very comforting to Aly for some reason. She sometimes even caught herself half-wishing she was a Slytherin simply for their cold, dark common room. It seemed like years since Lennox's funeral. It reality it had been a week.

Her talk with Sirius still played very vividly in her mind. He had pulled her off into a deserted classroom and insisted they talk. He wanted to form a friendship between them. One with no awkwardness or anything. She agreed to it, although at the time she didn't really know what she was agreeing to. Then he had let her then pour out her soul to him. Every bit of information she had taken in over the course of discovering Lennox's death and what followed, she told him about. There was just something about him that made her trust him.

Now, one week later, they were friends. Aly didn't really know what that constituted along the lines of buddy-to-buddy talks and activities, but as she continued her walk, she didn't really care. Sirius never really asked for anything from her, ever. She was usually the one talking when they came in contact.

She turned a corner and found herself face to face with Severus Snape.

"Oh, sorry," she yelped as she jumped with surprise.

He didn't look too happy and brushed past her. Further down the hall she heard noises. As she moved closer, she heard that it was laughter. Sirius' laughter.

She continued down the hall, her walk turning into a jog, and saw a group of people standing around and Sirius was in the middle. James was standing next to him and Peter was stand off in the back. Remus was no were to be found, but Aly figured it was near a full moon.

"What are you doing?" she called out and instantly the group parted and Aly was left facing Sirius and James.

"Nothing," Sirius replied coolly. "What's it to you?"

Aly looked at him and he looked back at her. Their glares seemed to intensify as the continued to stare. "What are you doing?" Aly asked again, this time through clenched teeth.

"If it was your business, I'd tell you. But seeing as it's not, I'm going to say bug off."

Aly didn't understand what was going on with Sirius. He had wanted to be friends and now he was acting like a total jerk. She let out a huff and strode away.

"Tell your _daddy_ I say hi, Dumbledore!" he yelled after her.

Her anger swelled when she turned a corner leading up to the common room and saw her father conversing with a large group of teachers.

Her face curled into a grime expression and when her father turned and saw her he frowned.

"Hello, Alyson," he greeted.

"Father," she replied snippily and brushed past him.

She hadn't gotten very far when she let out a scream of shock. Professor

Binns, the History of Magic teacher, was floating in front of her. He blinked down at her, not at all startled by her scream. In fact, he looked as if he hadn't even heard it. This came to no surprise to Aly since he always acted that way, but the fact that he was a pearly white figure terrified her.

He floated straight through her. It felt like her blood had suddenly run cold.

"Oh, hello," he said finally seeing her.

She just stared at him. He continued to float on, straight past the other teachers.

Aly walked back over to her father and asked, "What the--?"

"Professor Binns died in his sleep last night," Dumbledore explained. "And as usual, when it came time to rise for class, he did. Only he left his body behind."

Aly's eyes went wide and a strange smile crept onto her face as she watched her history professor float around the corner.

"It's funny."

Aly turned to look at her father, "Last night I was talking to him and he said he was dead tired. I guess he was right."

Aly laughed at this and Dumbledore chuckled. The teachers, not having listened to their conversation, looked at them in astonishment. Aly let out a sigh and turned in the direction of the common room again. "I'll see you later."

Dumbledore looked at her. "Next Sunday, I think."

Snapping her head around, she looked at him. He smiled and she nodded and left.

XxXxX

As 6pm rolled around, Aly felt a pang of guilt as she settled herself into a big squishy arm chair by the fire in the Gryffindor common room. Lily, after looking at her watch, looked at Aly and said, "Um, Al, it's 6."

Aly chose to ignore this fact and snuggled deeper into the chair.

Lily kept making noises as Aly sat through her weekly meeting with her father.

6:05 . . . cough

6:10 . . . clearing of her throat

6:15 . . . "humph"

At 6:20, Sirius and James entered the common room. James had become a very popular spectrum in Hogwarts due to his Quidditch skills. He had a small group of followers who basically followed him around the school. Peter seemed to be James' head cheerleader.

Sirius came striding over at the sight of Aly. He gave her a, "Hey, Als," and sat down on the table in front of her.

She glared at him.

"What?!" he exclaimed.

Aly sat up quickly. "Don't you what me. You know exactly what I'm mad at you about."

Sirius seemed to decide to play innocent. "No, I don't know. And frankly, I'm hurt you'd accuse me of something I so obviously didn't do."

"'Tell your _daddy_ I say hi, Dumbledore'," Aly mimicked.

"Ok, 1) I don't talk like that and 2) oh, I forgot about that."

"Well, fruit flies don't have very long attention spans do they?"

"Are you comparing me to a small insect?"

"Yes, I believe I am."

They were both sitting up straight and looked on the ready to pounce.

"I have to go." Aly stood up so fast that it startled Sirius and he fell backwards of the table. "I'll be back," she told Lily who was watching her and Sirius.

"Ok," she said smiling at Aly, glad that for once one of their fights wasn't going to end with something caught on fire or Aly storming off crying.

Aly wondered around the school for a while. She passed the Ravenclaw tower and one of the prefects told her off for being there. She wondered back down towards the dungeons. She passed a group of boys, Slytherin she noted, huddled together, whispering. As she approached one of the boys nudged the blonde boy in the middle. All of their heads shoot up and they all glared at her. She recognized a few of them. Snape was there and Lucius Malfoy and his two best friends Crabbe and Goyle. There were a few other people she couldn't place a name with.

"What are you doing here?" Malfoy growled.

"I can be here if I want. It's not your hallway." Aly snarled back. She didn't like the way this boy talked to her.

"I suppose not. Soon, but not yet." He turned toward the wall in front of him, he gave the password, Parselmouth, and went into the common room.

The others filed in after him. Only Snape remained. He was watching Aly through curtains of oily hair.

"He does realize that he just gave me the password to your common room, doesn't he?" she questioned him.

Snape shrugged and with one last look at Aly, he turned and went into the common room.

Aly continued upwards, back towards to the Great Hall. The doors were open when she got there. The hall was filled with the cold January air. A light out in the grass caught her attention. She tried to follow it without moving, but it disappeared and, her curiosity taking over, followed it out the door.

At the sight of her silhouette in the lit door frame, it stopped moving. There was whispering and shuffling and Aly realized what it was. The light suddenly went out and Aly called out, "James Michael Potter, you come back here now!"

There was a noise of surprise and a sound of bodies falling to the ground and a loud moan of pain. There was no more sound of movement and Aly, suddenly doubt her suspicion, called out again, "I'm going to see my father. I mean it." She turned, "Ok, I'm going now." As she started back into the hall, something warm caught her arm. James' head appeared next to her.

"Don't please. He said I'd get benched if I got sent to his office again." He was breathing heavily having sprinted across the lawn. He was sweating even though it was only about 27 degrees outside.

Aly saw over his shoulder Sirius and Peter pulling themselves off of the ground and brushing some snow off of themselves.

"What are you doing?" she asked cautiously, afraid of what the answer may be.

He shrugged and it was then that Aly noticed the full moon and it connected in her head. "Oh, James, you really shouldn't go out there now. It's not safe. He's not safe."

James eyes went wide. "Who's 'he'?" he asked trying to sound as if he didn't know what was going on, but not pulling it off very well.

"I don't know," Aly said playing along.

James smiled and turned to leave. "Please, don't" Aly called out again.

James just winked over his shoulder at her. When he reached the other two boys, Aly saw Sirius question him and look at her. With that she lifted her chin high in the air, turned on her heel, and strode back intro the castle.

It hit her just how cold it was outside. She decided against going to see her father. Her only thought was of getting up into her nice warm bed. The events of tonight could wait until tomorrow she thought with a yawn. Yes, wait until tomorrow.

XxXxX

Look, another one! To make up for having to wait so long for the last one. To also make up for the long time for the next one. Yes, a warning, it may be a while for the next chapter. Well, just have to wait and see.

Thanks for reading. Review for me, please.


	14. What A Blast!

Disclaimer: boo-hoo, not mine.

Dedicated: to Sama Claus!

XxXxX

What her father would have said Aly didn't know. The commotion of the next morning totally discarded whatever odd feeling she had about the Slytherin's.

As she entered the common room, Aly was greeted with a foul smelling odor. Before she could figure out where it came from she was hit by a foul purple goo. It completely covered her from head to toe. As she reached up and wiped it away from her eyes, her insides burning with a controlled anger, she saw Sirius and James come flying across the room. They both froze and James slipped on a rug. Both of the boys wore a look of horror.

"Aly, oh, we are so sorry," Sirius started, "We weren't aiming at you. Honest."

Aly, her anger that was still harbored for Sirius from the day before, suddenly whipped out her wand and stunned him. He fell backwards and James jumped up, his wand out, ready to defend his friend.

He didn't make a move though. Sirius stood up and faced Aly. He pushed James' wand down and whispered, "No, this is my issue."

"Oh, yeah right." Aly snapped.

Sirius just raised his eyebrows at her and both shouted out spells at the same time. The bright white gleam from Aly's struck the sparkling black of Sirius' and they erupted with a boom. The occupants of the common room, the Gryffindor tower, and the classrooms surrounding it fell. The spells had seemed to have a bad mixture when met because there, in the side of the Gryffindor common room, was a humungous hole.

As Aly and Sirius, both panting hard, stared at the hole, dust settling around them, Lily came running over.

"Oh-my-gosh! What did you do?!" she screeched.

"What? This?" Aly asked notioning to the hole.

"Yes, that!" Lily yelled eccentrically.

"Just a small misunderstanding," she replied calmly.

"A small misunderstanding? A SMALL MISUNDERSTANDING?!" Lily screamed, "It's snowing in our common room and it's just because of a 'small misunderstanding'?"

"My goodness!" McGonagall gasped as she entered the common room. "What happened? Explain yourselves!" she started her deep penetrating stare at Aly, who was still covered in purple goo and Sirius who was standing next to her looking very guilty.

"It was a small misunderstanding," Lily explained trying to keep the rage in her voice to a minimum.

McGonagall turned on her, "'A small misunderstanding'? That's what led to the destruction of the school building?"

"Lily had nothing to do with it, Professor," Aly cut in.

"Yeah, it was all our fault," Sirius said stepping forward.

Both girls and the professor turned in shock at this confession.

"See, we were experimenting with this stuff called silly putty. It's a muggle toy. It's kinda like—"

"I'm aware of what it is," McGonagall snapped.

"Well, we wanted to make it bounce." Sirius continued, "Unfortunately, everything we added just made it too wet or not wet enough and it never had the right consistency to bounce."

McGonagall made a noise of impatience.

"Well, Remus suggested that we try a simple jumping potion. Since it makes humans jump higher we thought maybe it would work on silly putty. It worked," he added brightly.

"How very nice," McGonagall barked.

"Well, it got away from us and landed on Aly here. That's why she covered in it. So I tried to clean it up and so did she and we ended up making some weird blast and that's – what happened," he concluded.

McGonagall stared at him for a moment, then at Aly, and finally said, "Fine, I'll take that story. Although, I know there is no way a simple cleaning charm would have caused – _this_!" she shook her hand at the hole and her glasses fell to the side. "You, Mr. Black, Mr. Potter, Mr. Lupin, and Miss Dumbledore will receive detention. My office, tomorrow night." She turned and walked away. At the portrait hole, she waved her wand and all the pieces flew back into place. She 'huffed' and with that, she left.

"Well, that wasn't hard to fix. Why did we have to get detention for that?" James commented.

"Because," Lily rounded on him, "You started all of this and therefore need to be punished."

His eyebrows contracted, "_I_ started all this?"

"Yes, you had the silly putty didn't you?"

"But you gave it to me," he snipped back, "So technically, this is all your fault."

"My fault? I had no idea that you could take something as harmless as silly putty and use it to cause such havoc."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

Lily and James glared at each other and after a moment of silence James said, "Well," he started to stutter, it was as if he suddenly realized that it was Lily he was talking to, "I—well, you."

"Shut it, Potter."

"Make me," James hollered suddenly regaining his nerve.

"Both of you, be quiet," Aly said rubbing her temples. Her head ached and she had a horrible feeling that her weird vision as going to appear soon.

"Are you alright?" Lily asked kindly, her motherly voice taking over in an instance.

"Yeah, I just need to go lie down."

"Alright," Lily said grabbing Aly's elbow. "Let's go,"

She pulled Aly up the stairs to the dormitory leaving James, still angry, and Sirius, wearing a look of concern, in their wake.

XxXxX

ok, that's short, but there you go. review for me! :o)


	15. Detention with the Marauders

Disclaimer: same as usual; not mine, jk rowling's. okay, go ahead reading.

Dedication: To the Tsunami victims. All those lost and all those left behind, espcially the children, may they get allthe helpthey need to rebuildtheir towns, homes, and lives. Keep them in your prayers.

a/n: I would just like to hope for better weather in 2005, because this past year mother nature hasn't been all that friendly to us.Plus, i'd like to say happy new year to everyone. 2005, baby!

XxXxX

"Now, you are to sit here and do your lines, _silently_, until I come back. Understand?" McGonagall instructed sending a very stringent stare at the three boys and Aly.

She left, pausing outside the door to put a spell on it which made it glow slightly.

"Pah-lease!" James stated to the closed door.

Sirius got up and crossed the room. He examined the door. "Simple sealant charm," he said looking very closely at the door. "Oh, well." He shrugged and added, "No problem." He crossed the room and pushed open the window. "Let's go."

James jumped up and strode the short length to the window. "You coming, Rem?"

Remus looked over at Aly, who was starting on her lines. She peeked at him from the corner of her eye and saw him looking rather perplexed. Instead of replying, he simply picked up his quill and started writing.

James jaw dropped and Sirius and him shared a quick glance. "Oh, come on!" James yelled. "Just because Frosty the Ice-Bitch is here doesn't mean you have to actually do this pathetic excuse of a punishment."

Where Aly's usual swell of anger started, there was a different feeling, much more painful than the anger. She knew what it was. It was hurt; deep, cutting hurt. She didn't say anything though. She didn't even know what to say. No one had ever said anything like that to her. Sure she had had remarks thrown at her, but they had always been things like what Sirius had said two days before, comments about her dad. No one had ever referred to her as something as horrible as 'Frosty the Ice-Bitch.' Least of all, she would have never guessed it was James who would call her that.

Her mind reeled at the thought of how to respond. She could easily come back with something as low and cutting as that. Her internal battle of conscience took only a minute second to end. She wouldn't say anything back to him she decided. It would be hypocritical to do the same thing to him that had upset her.

So the slight pause she had taken in her writing ended and she continued writing.

All three of the boys were watching her. James, who was halfway out the window, looked ready to fight back to any remark Aly had to say. Sirius looked indifferent about the whole thing having leaned back against the window frame and crossing his arms. Remus, however, was looking on pityingly. When Aly didn't look back up, James shrugged and disappeared out the window. Sirius followed, "You comin', Rem?" he asked, only his eyes and forehead showing over the sill.

Remus sighed, "Fine," and stood up grudgingly, flinging his book bag over his shoulder.

After Remus had gone out the window, Aly let the single tear that had harbored in the corner of her eye fall. She got up, crossed the room quickly, and slammed the window as hard as she could. She leaned against the cold window, she back against the glass. She took a few quick breaths and then went back to her lines.

'_I will not cause trouble.'  
_'_I will not cause trouble.'  
_'_I will not cause trouble.'  
_'_I will not cause trouble.'  
_'_I will not cau_

The window slid back open with a 'huff'. A cold draft filled the room and Aly looked to see James lodged in between the sill and the bottom of the window. He wiggled and finally managed to slide onto the floor in a heap, the window slamming shut above him. He stood and dusted himself off. Without looking at Aly or giving an explanation of what he was doing back, he turned and opened the window and shouted below, "The eagle has landed."

"None too gracefully," Sirius yelled back up.

"Just shut up," James yelled before turn to Aly finally. "You've got 30 seconds to pack up," he told her, "Starting . . . now." He looked at his watch and Aly looked at him like he was crazy. "Come now, you're down to 26, no, 25 seconds and counting."

Aly got up and put her things away, preparing herself for the worst. By the time she had finished, James had started counting down a loud.

"21, 20, 19" he saw that she was done and stated, "Ok, screw this. Let's go." He came over to her and stated simply, "Hang on," and with that, whipped her over his shoulder. She let out a screech and as he went back over to the window, she clung on to his back.

"Let me down!" she demanded.

"No can do. Just chill out alright."

"How the hell are you going to carry me down the side of the building like this? You'll have to let me down."

"Hmm," he stopped and moved at different angles. "You're right. I can't carry you like this."

He slid onto the sill, turned so he faced the outside with his feet dangling, and bent over slightly. With Aly's butt facing the ground he called, "Geronimo!" and dropped her.

Aly let out a screech as she fell 4 stories towards the hard, frozen, snow-covered ground, but she landed in something soft that bounced, much like Lily's trampoline. She let out a breathe of relief and looked over at Sirius, who was laughing, and Remus, who was behind her, who looked highly unamused.

"Move!" James yelled.

Aly slid her way towards Sirius and as she got off, whispered, "How much to make you 'accidentally' miss him?"

Sirius just smiled as James made his way down onto the odd sheet. Sirius dumped his end of the sheet and yanked the other end from Remus, making James fall into the snow.

"Alright?" he asked Aly folding the sheet up.

"Fine," she mumbled.

"And how was your fall, Jamesie?"

"Swell, thanks." He said pulling himself up with the help of Remus.

"So, let's go," Sirius said staring to move.

"Hang on," Aly put up her hand to stop him.

"Ahh, what?!" Sirius whined.

"I want to know about what just happened."

"Oh, man. I knew this was going to happen." Sirius whined and turned in a circle with his head on his forehead which was pointed to the sky.

"I'm serious," Aly stated putting her hands on her hips.

"So, am I," Sirius imitated.

Aly gave him a look and Remus spoke up. "We _do_ have consciences, you know," he sent a rather hostile look at James, "And we didn't think it was fair to leave you up there to do the punishment if we weren't."

"Why'd Butthead have to be the one to come get me?"

"He felt sorry about calling you what he did," Remus said in a tone Aly had come to associate with her father when he was very angry at her. She was very sure James wasn't sorry and had a feeling he hadn't even wanted her to come along.

So she smiled sweetly at him and said in as sweet sing-song voice, "Aww, you guys are the best." She turned and asked Remus, "So, where are we going?"

"Well—"

"No," Sirius cut him off. "She'll just have to wait," he said grabbing her and pulling her so her back was close to his chest. She shifted uncomfortably. She never liked being this close to Sirius. James made a face and said simply, "It won't cover all of us." He looked like a defiant child arguing with his mother about not wanting to wear and old itchy sweater.

Sirius, who had been crouching slightly over Aly, stood up straight. Aly saw Remus behind Sirius and saw that he had been crouching too. "Of course it will. Stop being thick."

"No it won't. One of us will have to stay behind."

"Fine," Sirius said snatching what Aly saw was the Invisibility cloak she had given him away from James, "You can be the one to stay behind if you're going to sulk the whole time."

He flipped the cloak over the three of them, leaving James to watch very upset. Within a second, James had come over, yanked the cloak up, and settled in front of Aly. His back was very tense as he whispered to her, "Don't step on my feet."

Remus whispered to Sirius, "Tell her how to walk."

Sirius cleared his throat and announced, "I think I'll show you how to walk," as if it had been his idea. Aly rolled her eyes at him, although he couldn't see. He instructed her on which foot to move and how to line it up with the person in front of her. It seemed that the boys had the whole thing very in sync.

"Can we go?" James finally yelled.

"Fine, go!" Sirius yelled back.

Aly heard him mumble, "Buttmunch" at James under his breath.

They traveled across the vast lawns of the castle. Aly turned her head slightly and noticed that they were leaving tracks behind themselves. "Aren't you worried someone's going to see the footprints?"

"Nah, it's too dark," Sirius whispered.

They came to the edge of the forest a few yards away from Hagrid's hut. Aly could see the light shining from behind the drawn curtain.

James stopped and whispered, "There's no going back once we are in."

"Ok, we know. Go on."

"Before we go in, I just want to make something clear," James said insolently towards the trees, "No one, and I mean no one, better say anything about this to anyone. Understand?"

"Just go!" Sirius hissed.

James started up again and Aly let out a gulp as they were engulfed by total darkness. She wondered why no one lit their wands for light, but James seemed to know where he was going. He also let out remarks about tall roots and low branches so the 3 behind him wouldn't get caught. Sirius' hands also helped Aly. He kept her moving in the right direction.

Somewhere, out in the distance, there was a loud sound. It wouldn't have frightened Aly except for the reactions she got from the 3 boys. James stopped dead in his tracks. Sirius wrapped his arms protectively around Aly's waist and pulled her completely against him. Remus said sharply, "Stay calm."

Aly's breathe came in short gasps. Partly from nerves and partly from Sirius' tight hold on her.

"Let's go back," Remus said, it sounded almost like a plea to Aly.

"No," James insisted.

"They won't be happy with us. Neither will Dumbledore if we don't bring Aly back whole. Let's go back," Remus insisted.

"What do you mean 'whole'?!" Aly yelled out.

"No!"  
"Shh!"

Sirius clapped his hand over her face. There was movement in the trees. It was a familiar sound. Almost like . . .

"I thought we told you not to come back here, boy." The voice was a high, squeaky voice not very frightening at all.

"Bane!" Aly yelled stepping out from under the cloak.

All the centaur's that had appeared jumped onto their hind legs.

"Alyson," Bane said, "You're back."

"Well I'll-be, that is you Bane. Last time you you were just a tiny foal."

The boys ripped off the cloak, "You know him?" James asked incredulously.

"Of course," Aly said casually. She turned to look at the boys, "Why are they scary?"

The centaurs glared menacing at the boy's over Aly's shoulder.

The boy's didn't answer, just quivered. Aly turned and saw Bane flexing his bow.

"Ohhh," Aly said quietly.

Bane put his bow down when he noticed Aly looking at him.

"You know them?" he asked.

Aly looked at the boys and considered it for a moment. "Depends. What would happen if I didn't?"

James let out a sound.

Bane smiled wickedly. Instead of saying anything, he pretended to shoot an arrow at them.

Aly looked at the boys again. "Well, Remus is with me. But I'm not sure if these two," she motioned at James and Sirius, "Would be seen with 'Frosty the Ice-Bitch'."

"What?!" Sirius gasped, "I never called you that!"

"Yeah, well, I'm might have to ask my _daddy _before I give my stance on this."

"Aww, come on!" he moaned. Bane plucked his bow and a twang shot through the forest and the two boys jumped. "I thought we were friends," Sirius whispered through clenched teeth as if to keep James from hearing him.

"You're friends with her?" James yelped.

"Fine, Sirius is with me too."

"Yes!" Sirius made a punching motion in the air and came over behind Aly where Remus stood.

James eyes bugged as Bane said, "Good, he's the worst of them all."

Remus looked over at James, "James, apologize to Aly about what you said."

"Never. I meant it and I still do," James said crossing his arms.

"Fine," Aly said crossing her arms too.

"Fine," Bane said and pulled out an arrow. "Victory is mine." He pulled it back and let it go. Luckily, James had his fast reflexes from Quidditch and hit the ground.

"Bane!' Aly gasped, but Sirius grabbed her and dragged her after him as they ran back towards the castle.

"Put the cloak on!" Aly shouted.

"They can see through it," James yelled as they ran.

They continued through the dark forest and Aly tripped and Sirius went down with her. "This is ridiculous!" Aly pulled herself and searched for her wand. "Damn! Sirius light your wand!"

He did as he was told and Aly saw that her wand had fallen out of her pocket. She picked it up just in time to blast a spell at an arrow heading straight at Sirius. It disintegrated instantly, inches from Sirius' chest.

"Than—"

"Later!" Aly yelled as she grabbed Sirius and continued after James and Remus.

They reached the edge of the forest and saw James and Remus searching the edge frantically.

"Thank God!"  
"There you are!"

"Yeah," Sirius said gasping for air. "All thanks to Aly,"

Another arrow came out of the woods.

"Back to the classroom, I think." Remus said looking back at the castle.

"Yeah," James and Sirius agreed.

Remus led the way back with Aly pulling up the rear. As they reached the castle, Aly looked around and said, "How are we going to get back up?"

"No worries," James said pointing his wand and a ladder appeared up the side of the building.

They had all settled back into their desks before anyone noticed the gash on the side of James' head. It was Aly who noticed.

"Oh my!" she exclaimed.

"Dude!" Sirius yelped in excitement. "Does it hurt?" he went over and poked it.

"It does when you touch it," James snapped.

"We better take him to the nurse," Remus said.

"And tell her what? I fell over during detention." James barked touching his wound.

As the boys talked, Aly wondered around the office. She grabbed a bottle and came over to them. "Watch out," she took up part of her robe and rubbed the liquid on to it. She reached out for James' head, but he moved back.

"What is that?"

"Stuff."

He looked at her suspiciously. "Trust me," Aly insisted and reached out and grabbed him before he could move. She dabbed it on his cut. He moaned as the blood started to bubble.

"What the hell is that?" Sirius yelped.

"What's it doing?" James whimpered.

The red bubbles turned into one big one and then it popped.

"Yww!"  
"Yuck!"  
"Wicked!"

Where the bubble had been was smooth skin.

"Wow, it's gone!" Sirius said in awe.

The sound of distant foot steps could be heard.

"Oh, shit," Sirius said. "Put that stuff away," he told Aly. "You, be quiet," he told James. "Rem, you cast the charm."

It was Aly's turn to look in awe. She had never seen Sirius act so, well, serious. She just stood there looking at him. "Worship me later!" he said pushing her forward.

She moved quickly and sat back in her spot and noticed that her lines were done. She watched Remus point his wand at James' paper and saw the lines suddenly appeared.

Before she could say anything, the door opened and McGonagall came in looking extremely strict. She looked shocked to see them sitting there, done.

"Turn in your papers and then you may leave," she instructed.

They all got up and put their papers on her desk. Together they left and headed back to their common room.

"Later," Sirius said to Aly, yawning, as he went up to bed.

James just swept past, but she could've sworn she heard him mumble, "Thanks."

"Good night," Remus said with a smile and a nod.

"'Night," Aly said smiling back before heading up the steps to her bedroom.

Aly changed and laid back on her bed. As she started to pull the curtain back, Lily's flew open. "How was it?" she whispered.

Aly looked up at her canopy top and thought before speaking. "Alright, I guess."

"Really?"

"Really."


	16. The straw that broke Aly's back

Disclaimer: I own nothing you recognize.

Dedicated: to the ostriches that killed Mufas in The Lion King

XxXxX

"Footprints. They lead straight into the forest and back."

"Who's are they?"

"My daughter's. Plus, three young men, I assume."

"My students?" McGonagall asked. "I put a sealant charm on the door. There's no way."

"The window," Dumbledore pointed up at it.

They were standing out in the cold snow investigating the site.

"Outrageous," McGonagall mumbled as Dumbledore shook his head in dismay at the thought of what he had to do next came.

XxXxX

"We've had an unfortunate deliberate breaking of the rules last night. Four pairs of footprints, leading to the forbidden forest, were discovered."

Aly sent a quick glance towards the Marauders. Sirius and James had their heads bent together and Remus was studying Dumbledore intently.

"It is impossible to know exactly who they belong to," Dumbledore continued. "So, until those four people come forward and take the penalty of their misbehavior, everyone will hereby be suspended from Hogsmeade visits."

An instant uproar filled the hall.

"And," Dumbledore pressed on, "There will be a 7 o'clock curfew for everyone."

At this the whole hall groaned and mumbled, Lily one of the loudest.

"If I ever find out who did this I'll—" she seemed to struggle at trying to find a bad enough punishment.

"Why would he punish the whole school for something only four people did?" Peter asked simply.

"Yeah, why?" James said in a contemptuous tone as he turned towards Aly.

"Who knows?" Remus answered before Aly could respond.

Aly felt something crumble inside of her. She knew why her father had done it. He knew it had been her involved and he also knew Aly's conscience was easily moved and he planned to get her to confess by using it against her.

She suddenly felt a surge of extreme dislike for her father. If it had only been the three boys, he would've just asked for a confession and left it at that. However, since she was involved, he could maneuver a confession from her.

"I hope someone confesses soon or I may have to get violent," Lily announced rather loudly to the table, her eyes on James.

"I don't," James said in response glaring at Aly.

Great, Aly thought, just great.

XxXxX

Aly carried around the guilt for a whole three days before she cracked. She relieved her soul of the burden to Lily who seemed much less vicious after she found out it was Aly involved.

"Did they force you to go?" Lily questioned as they sat on Aly's bed.

"No," Aly said throwing herself back onto the bed causing Lily to spring up suddenly. As Lily rearranged herself on the bed again, she said slowly, "I think that you should fess up."

"Wish I could," Aly mumbled, her head hanging off the side of the bed, the blood rushing to her hair.

"Why can't you?"

"I'd prefer not to bring on anymore of James' taunting," Aly mumbled.

Lily grabbed Aly by the tie and yanked her up. "Are you telling me James is the problem? You're afraid of Potter?"

Aly didn't reply, but just took her tie and put it on straight.

"Fine," Lily snapped, "I'll handle this." She jumped off of the bed.

Aly settled down at dinner but didn't feel like eating. Lily looked at her as she ate and smiled as Dumbledore addressed the hall. "The ban has been lifted. Curfew's are to be reset to normal and all third years and up can visit Hogsmeade next weekend."

The hall buzzed again. This time it was a grateful buzz instead of an angry one. Remus and Sirius were both staring at Aly. Sirius whispered angrily at Remus without taking his eyes off of Aly. Remus didn't reply.

Aly got up and left the hall.

"Aly," said a blur as she rushed past it. She stopped and turned to see James there.

"What?" she snapped, her dislike for him seemed to swell again. She didn't understand this boy. One second he was pleasant; the next he was unbearable.

"I'm supposed to tell you to go see your dad,"

"The headmaster," Aly corrected tersely.

"Yeah, him, at 8:30 tonight. He wants to talk to us." James turned and went down the steps and with passing Lily, who was coming up, he blushed slightly and quickened his pace.

Lily raised her eyebrows and smirked as she came up to Aly. "You?" Aly asked.

"Yep."

Aly smiled, "Thank you."

"No problem."

XxXxX

It didn't take a rocket scientist to tell Aly what the meeting with her father would be about. What she wouldn't have predicted was how the meeting went down.

First, he started with stating that the excursion, a term Aly would quickly grow to hate, was beyond against the school rules and therefore would implement further detentions. Further _separate _detentions.

Then, he went on to tell them all of the dangers that could have happened and how the alliance he had been at constant work to keep stable between the centaurs may very well have been broken. "Something you should have known, Alyson," he said turning on her. But before she could reply he continued on.

He kept saying that Aly should've stopped the excursion and eventually it became as if he thought the whole thing had been her idea. Her insides were literally smoking through her nose as she sat there, staring hard at the floor, allowing herself not to attack the tall, lean (dumbass of a) man in front of her.

"Do any of you have anything to say for yourselves?" he finally asked.

Aly's face looked oddly gruesome as she continued to stare at the floor imagining horrible, horrible things happening to her father. Maybe a meteor would fall from the sky and land on him. Or maybe he could spontaneously combust.

"I do," Sirius said. Aly looked over at him. He looked slightly petrified he had said anything at all.

"Yes, Mr. Black?" Dumbledore said with a hint of vague intrigue behind his voice.

"With all do respect, sir," he started tentatively, "It wasn't Aly's fault she was with us."

Dumbledore examined Sirius for a moment, his lips curling over to one corner of his mouth, his nose moved upwards causing creases to form deeply in his forehead.

"We made her come with us," he pressed on. Beside him, James made a noise from deep in his throat as if trying to make it so only Sirius could hear him. Sirius, however, ignored the noise and pressed onward. "We left her behind because she didn't want to leave and after what James had said we thought it was unfair to leave her behind." His face fell into a remorseful look instantly. He had obviously not intended on saying that James had said what he had said to Aly.

Dumbledore, though, seemed fascinated to learn what James had said to his daughter. His face had fallen from its deep thoughfulish look into one of fervent impatience. "What did James say to her?" he asked.

The three boys all sat up straight and shared quick glances from the corners of their eyes. Aly, who was still burning a hole into the floor with her eyes, remember what Lily had said, "I can handle him." So, she mumbled, "Frosty the Ice-Bitch."

All four heads shot towards her, James eyes had grown to the size of saucers as Dumbledore asked her quietly, "What was that?"

Aly's pulled her head up as if by force and repeated it. As the words fell from her mouth an amused smile spread across her fathers face and her internal fire that had been stewing, held inside for the past 30 minutes or so, spilt out in a fury. She jumped up and her chair fell with such force that its top smashed. She stood for a second, her father had changed his face as she stood, and he looked concerned. She struggled for words, couldn't find them, and, finally, just exhaled loudly through her nose and turned on her heel and strode the length of the room.

"Alyson, I'm not done yet," Dumbledore said in a voice of distinct authority.

"I don't give a shit," Aly barked. He looked startled by her cursing. Good, she thought.

"You cannot leave yet," he said.

"Yes I can. What's the worse you can do if I leave. Give me detention? Oh wait you already did that," she yelled this at him, her face red and sweaty from holding in her rage. "It doesn't matter. More hours with you couldn't make me hate you anymore than I do right now."

Dumbledore looked at her, startled. The three boys were watching her too and all of them looked shocked by her statement.

"What did you say?" Dumbledore asked so quietly it was almost a whisper.

Aly's words were distinct and full of plenty of venom, "I—hate—you."

And with that she left, slamming the door behind her.

XxXxX

Done. Check and mate. Ok, I don't really know what that means, but anyway, I'm pretty sure it fits. I hope you liked chapter 16 of the lovely Aly story. More to come. Quickly, I hope. Later days.

Review. You know you want to. All the cool kids are doing it.


	17. Connecting

Disclaimer: I wish.

Dedication: to the EEOC. Oh, how I hate thee. Shall I count the ways? No, but at least I finished my paper on it. YES!

XxXxX

Anyone who had been in the room when Aly had stormed off would have told you that they wished that Aly had forgiven her father and had taken back what she had said. But all three of the boys waited for days to see a change in their headmaster's mood, but it never lifted. Aly went back to her life, a life without he father. She quietly served her first two detentions without so much of a glance at her father and eventually he gave up and let McGonagall supervise her. One of the boys was with her each detention and of the three, Remus was the only one who actually took it upon himself to talk to her about it.

"You should talk to him," Remus insisted.

But Aly just spat back at him, "Mind your own business, Lupin."

The term continued on and the snow melted to springy grass. Gryffindor won the Quidditch Cup and James' popularity seemed to swell as well as his head. When the term finally ended, Aly went to Lily's for the summer without so much of a word to her father. Petunia seemed even more unbearable this summer. Every time Aly entered a room, she'd yell "Freak!" and storm off. "Ignore her" became Lily's new over-used phrase.

One hot August day, when Mr. and Mrs. Evans were both at work, there was a knock on the front door. Lily was the one who answered it.

"Good afternoon, miss. I'm here selling Remus' door to door. So far no one wants one. So, how about you? Give Remus a home?" It was Sirius in a ridiculous hat and tie. Remus was standing behind him looking thoroughly annoyed. His eyes traveled to Lily and he smiled, "Hello."

"Hi," Lily said kindly.

Aly, who hadn't been in the room, appeared behind Lily as Petunia could be heard yelling "Freak!" somewhere in the distance. Aly leaned over Lily's shoulder to get a glimpse of their visitors. All either Sirius or Remus could see of her was her head. Aly smiled at Sirius and said "What you selling?"

For a response, Sirius reached up and removed his hat and in the tone of a beggar said, "Please, miss, won't you give our dear friend, Remus, a home?"

Remus looked annoyed again, "I think _you're_ the one who needs a new home, Sir."

Sirius' head snapped towards him and he growled through clenched teeth, "Shut up."

"Ah," Aly said impersonating a wise, old, Chinese karate instructor she had seen while watching TV with Lily's dad, "We are but two of the same card." She stepped back and did a bow causing her to disappear from sight for a moment.

"So, you still haven't talked to your dad?" Sirius asked slowly, almost cautiously. It was Remus' turn to snap his head and say, "Shut up." Aly looked on in confusion.

"Sorry, touchy subject," Sirius explained quickly.

Lily turned and looked at Aly. "You haven't talked to your dad? You told me you patched things up."

"Yeah right," Sirius stated. Lily's head shot towards him and Aly's eyes went wide and she started shaking her head frantically behind Lily. "Aly hasn't talked to him since—"

"What's James doing?" Aly said trying to change the subject.

"James? Here? At _my_ house?" Lily yelped. "Oh, hell, no."

"Their vocabulary has started meshing," Sirius whispered to Remus in fright. "It's almost like two Aly's."

Even though he was whispering, Aly was able to pick up what he said and chuck her flip-flop at him.

James didn't hold Lily's attention too long. "So, your dad doesn't know you're here?" she snapped at Aly, her eyes still on James, who was examining the mailbox in awe.

"Course he does," Aly said casually. "Come'on," Aly said waving the boys inside.

"Ohh, no," Lily mumbled, but Remus and Sirius were already inside.

She stood in the door frame watching James as she contemplated what to do. One of her neighbors appeared to be watching James also as he played with the flag on the box. "Potter, come here," Lily hissed.

James closed the door to metal box and scurried across the yard. He gave Lily a breathless "hello" as he swept in.

Lily leaned out onto the porch. She smiled at the man who had been watching James curiously and was now observing her. "Foreign," Lily said and turned and closed the door behind her and faced the living room. Remus was sitting with a magazine he had found and was reading an article from it. It looked like one her mother's gardening magazine's from the picture of a flower bed on the cover. Aly was on the couch and Sirius was next to her examining the TV remote as he flipped animatedly through the channels. Aly sat smiling at the odd innocent boyish charm that rarely showed through Sirius' hard outer exterior. James stood right by the couch looking keenly for direction of what to do. "Sit," Lily barked at him suddenly aggravated by the whole situation. James fell onto the couch next to Aly and sat up straight, both feet planted flat on the floor.

Aly watched as Lily pounded into the kitchen. She got up and Sirius stopped channel surfing and looked up at Aly as she passed over him to follow Lily. "Dude," Remus hissed. Sirius turned to see one of the inner organs being taking out of the body. "Oh, that's pretty," he grimaced before changing the channel.

"What's wrong?" Aly asked Lily as she watched Lily pace the length of the kitchen.

"Why are they here?"

"I don't kn—"

"Yes, you do," Lily stopped and looked at her. "Did you invite them?"

"No."

Lily's face contorted into the premature lines that seemed to grace her face in times of confusion.

"Don't lie, if you really did," she barked.

"I didn't," Aly insisted.

"Really? Then why are they here?" Lily was red with anger. "You had to have invited them."

"She didn't invite us." Sirius had come into the kitchen and both girls turned to face him. "Dumbledore sent us. He figured you'd talk to us, Aly. He was worried about you."

Aly's felt her insides start to burn. It wasn't the burning she normally felt when someone mentioned her father, it was worse. It was more painful and hotter than before. "Now he's got you spying on me? This is unbelievable," she yelled and stormed out of the room leaving the other two to stare at the slammed kitchen door.

"We didn't mean any harm," Sirius said awestruck.

…….

Remus put down his magazine and moved so he could see the source of the loud clanking. Aly appeared dragging her trunk behind her. "What's going on?" Remus asked with mild concern.

"I'm leaving," Aly told him as Lily and Sirius came out of the kitchen.

"What's this?" Lily asked.

"Leaving," Aly restated as she went over the coffee table and filtered for loose homework pages she may have stuck inside a magazine.

"You can't," Lily said, "You're only 13. Where are you going to go?"

"Somewhere he can't find me."

Remus turned on Sirius, "You told her?"

"I had to. Lily was giving birth to a cow in there," he stated.

"We were told that under no conditions was Aly to know that we were here to see her for him," Remus exclaimed.

"I had to," Sirius pressed again.

During the argument, Petunia came down to investigate all the noise and when she saw the scene, she smiled wickedly and ran up to her room. James was the only one who saw her though. He was still sitting quietly.

"Aly, you can't leave."

"Yes, I can. I have to. He's watching me here."

"Because you're his daughter."

"A mere technicality."

"We were told to get info on Aly and report back and under no circumstances tell Aly why we were here."

"Now, what if it was life and death?"

"What?"

"What if Aly put her wand to my head and said to me 'Tell me why you're here or I'll kill you?' Could I tell her then?"

"Stop rambling, you moron."

"Big words from such a little man."

"_Little_ man?"

"Yea, you heard me."

James sat watching the whole thing unravel; their voices and the tv turned into one loud echo. Petunia returned downstairs. "Lily! Lily! LILY!"

Lily's attention stirred towards her. "What?" she yelled over the sound. "Mom's on the phone for you," she said with a snigger and ran back upstairs.

"Shut up! Everyone just shut up!" she yelled to the room and everyone fell silent. Only the sound of a blender from the cooking show Sirius left on was heard. "Now, everyone be quiet for a minute. My mom's on the phone."

Lily walked over to the phone and picked up the receiver. "Hi, Mom . . . Hmm, did she? Well, uh, yes there are boys here . . . well, I don't—" Aly snatched the phone from Lily's hand. "Hello, Mrs. Evans," she said as Lily moaned quietly and rubbed her ear. "Uh, I invited some friends over from school to help me and Lily on homework. . . oh, yeah, Lily and I, sorry . . . anyways, yes . . . well, I guess, wow. Would you look at that? They are boys. Never noticed that before." Aly pushed the phone down under her chin and asked the two boys, "Have you guys been boys long?"

Catching on to Aly's game they answered with a "Why, I guess so" and a "Can you imagine that? We're boys!" Aly put the mouthpiece back up. "Yes, I guess they are just as confused as me. . . We're just studying, it won't take long. . . oh," her face changed," I guess so. . . Well, Mrs. Evans, I may not be at dinner myself." Aly jumped over her trunk as Lily made a leap for the phone, hitting Sirius in the head with the cord and causing Remus to duck. "Oh, just out. I'll see you later, Mrs. Evans. Bye." She hung up the phone and hit Sirius in the back of the head in the process.

"You three are staying for dinner," she said grabbing her trunk.

"What?" rang from all four people; Lily's mortified, James' excited.

"I, on the other hand, am not." She started to pull her trunk towards the door.

"No," Lily said lunging at her trunk and landing on it. Aly still held onto it, so, Lily was slightly suspended from the ground. "You'll have to take me with you."

"Fine," Aly said dropping the trunk and Lily fell forward.

"I don't need my trunk anyways," she started for the door.

"Don't go."

Everyone was startled to hear James' voice speak these words. "Why? You don't care if I'm here."

"True," he said sadistically, "But he's going to follow you and find you no matter where you go. You know that. He's just going to keep looking. So, why not just stay here and be comfortable and let him have a tiny piece of mind?" James stated crossing his arms over his chest.

"Easy for you to say. You like you're parents," Aly growled.

"So? No one can really hate their parents," James said simply.

"Really?" Aly said her eyebrows rising.

"Really," Lily and Remus said agreeing with James. They both moved next to him and looked at Aly. Aly felt like something had deflated inside of her. She had to win this argument. It would make her look like a horrible person if she didn't win. But how?

Then it clicked and her clear blue eyes, so much like her father's, sparkled_. "I think you're the one who needs a new home, Sir."_

"Sirius, what do you think?" Aly asked, trying to keep the sound of triumph from showing through her voice.

He looked slightly startled, like a deer caught in headlights. "I don't," he shook his head, "I don't know."

"Really?" said Aly, laughter hidden in her words.

Sirius changed his face to a calm and casual look. "Why does it matter what I think anyways?"

"Because everyone else is choosing sides." Aly smiled and said, "So, do you love your parents," she pointed at the other three, "Or hate them?" she pointed at herself and then stood waiting for him to make his move.

He swayed slightly as he deliberated what to do and then took a large step behind Aly. "You can too hate your parents," he stated.

"But that's different," James started.

"Nuh-uh," Aly said, not really sure why it could be seen different.

"You're dad's not a death eater, Aly. That's a big difference." James seared and then clapped his hands over his mouth realizing what he had said.

Lily's eyes went big at the discovery and Remus glared at James. Aly, herself, was too shocked by the news to say anything. She felt Sirius move behind her and she made an instinctive grab at his shirt. He pulled free and Aly stood watching him flee out the front door. The whole house shook with the slam.

She started to move after him. "Let him go," Remus said looking very preoccupied.

She stopped short and stared at the door. She felt horrible because she knew she had caused this. She had hurt, yet another, person in her life. However, this time, she didn't feel that the person had deserved to be hurt by her.

XxXxX

Aly had gone back up to her room at the Evan's home and was lying on her bed. Her conscience had gotten the best of her. It had always been there, that little voice that told her what she was doing was right or wrong. When she was little, her father let he get away with ignoring it. As she grew, though, this became an issue. She had learned to ignore the little voice inside of her and as she reached the age where children became the most aware of their conscience she had to basically regrow hers. More and more, the voice inside her head started to sound like Lily. Lately, it popped in her head whenever her father was brought up. Lily was always there, whispering in her ear, "Go apologize" or "You can't hate him." But Aly had always been able to push it back down and get the voice to go away. All she had to do was tell herself that he deserved it and it was gone.

But now, a voice nothing like Lily's was in her ear "Go find him. Apologize for causing this." The voice was much stronger than Lily's voice usually was and it kept repeating those words over and over again, getting louder and louder until she heard the words out loud. She then realized it was herself she was hearing.

She jumped off the bed. She went over the window and looked out to the ground below. She had hoped he hadn't started walking anywhere. As she surveyed the ground a bunch of leaves and a few sticks floated down from the gutters. She realized instantly where he was for she herself had been up there many times before. She clambered out into the hallway into the upstairs bathroom and pushed herself onto the counter, using the toilet as a boost. She pushed open the window and sat on the ledge. She swung her legs around and heard her inner-Lily say that this was almost how the whole thing with her dad had started.

She swatted the voice away because this needed her full attention. There was nothing below and if she messed up she'd fall two stories to the ground. She reached up over the gutters and grabbed the chain linked rope she had wrapped around the base of the chimney the first time she had been up there. She tightened her grip and pushed herself off the ledge. She dangled down the side of the house and the started to swing side to side, slowly as first. When she had enough momentum, she kicked up and in one cat-like swoop landed with both feet on the roof, a skill that had taken many cuts and bruises and uncomfortable positions hanging off the house to achieve.

Sirius jumped in surprise as Aly straightened up.

"Hi," she said breathily, her breathe taken away from the adrenaline that always filled her veins after doing that.

He looked at her for a moment and then turned back towards the street. She had another feeling of déjà vu. Just like the lake.

"Come here," she said walking carefully over to the other side of the roof. He watched her move. "Come here," Aly snapped. He got up and slid slightly. "Be slow and careful. I don't want to have to clean Sirius-splat of the sidewalk."

He made his way over to her. "Sit," she instructed and he did. "This is the only place where no one can see you if you're up here," she explained. "Anyone could've seen you from you where, front or back. But here, you're virtually invisible to the world. Except for the fact that it is possible to see us from their yard if their outside," Aly pointed to the little brown house next store. "But if you lay down even they can't see you."

"Come up here a lot?" Sirius asked looking impressed.

"Yeah, I have to or else I'm pretty sure Lily would be buried under that tree over there. She can be a bit of a headache at times," Aly explained while pulling her legs up to her chest, wrapping her arms around them, and laying her chin on her knees.

"Yeah, well, you guys seem like really good friends though."

"Yeah, she needs me." Aly smiled and then added, "And I guess I need her too. A lot more than I like to think anyways."

"That's how I feel sometimes."

"Really?"

"Yeah, I don't like to admit that I need James and Remus. And even Peter."

Aly's eyes slanted, "Where is the little—"

Sirius' looked stopped her. He knew she hated Peter, but he wasn't going to let her bash on him.

She restated her question nicer this time, "Where is Peter?"

"His parents sent him to some muggle summer camp. Camp Workshire, I think."

Aly started to laugh.

"What?"

"That's a fat camp," Aly chocked out.

Sirius' eyes went slightly wide and a smile spread across his face, but he tried his best to control it.

He let Aly laugh for a while.

"Oh, ho, that was good. I needed that." Aly told Sirius as she wiped tears from her eyes.

Sirius gave her clout-like look. "What are you up here for?" he asked trying to move the attention from Peter.

"I wanted to apologize to you. I didn't know James was going to say anything you might not want me or Lily to know." Aly was having a difficult time not laughing. She still had an image of Peter waddling around a fat camp in her head. "Sorry, sorry. I'm trying to be serious here. It's just not working."

"It's alright," Sirius said.

Aly looked at him adn he continued, "Both of them: the whole thing down there and the whole non-serious thing. Besides, you very well know that despite what my name implies, seriousness is not _my _strong point."

Aly didn't respond. Her laughing was subsiding and they sat quietly. Sirius seemed intent on watching a robin that was sitting on a branch of a not far off tree. Aly looked at it too.

"I do hate them though," Sirius finally said breaking the silence, but not taking his eyes off the bird. Aly turned to look at him. The lowering afternoon sun was setting odd, almost majestic statue-like shadows on his face. She was almost tempted to reach out and touch his smooth cheek.

"They haven't really gotten use to the idea that I'm not a Slytherin. It would be slightly forgivable if I was a Hufflepuff or a Ravenclaw, but being a Gryffindor is almost like a sin in my family. I don't care though." He stated defiantly. "That's why I think you should tell your dad you're sorry for what you said. That's why agreed to come see you. Because you have a man who loves you and cares for you and the only reason you hate him because you are just both so stubborn with each other. You don't really know the kind of hate it is to hate a parent. _You_ hate the man behind the 'father', not your father. _I _hate my parents, plain and simple. And to be blatant, they hate me. I've never been an acceptable Black."

Aly still didn't say anything and Sirius still didn't look at her. He continued to watch bird and, as it jumped up on a branch, Aly watched his eyes dart upwards with it.

"They aren't technically death eaters." He turned to look at Aly finally. "They just like what the death eaters are doing. What Voldemort is doing."

Aly nodded in understanding.

"It's just that—well, they really hate muggles. More than they hate me."

"I doubt they hate you like you think they do. How could anyone hate you? You try so hard to make everyone laugh," she said suddenly feeling sleepy, her chin bumping against her knees as she talked.

He was looking at her and he smiled with an odd gleam in his eyes. Their rich brown seemed to blaze black. "No," he said sourly, "They hate me. My jokes have no effect on them. They've long past destroyed my spirit at home so I don't even attempt jokes anymore. Plus, I could careless if they laugh."

Even as he said this, Aly was sure that he really did care. She could hear it in his voice. She had a sudden feeling that he tried very hard to make them laugh and felt her heart break slightly at the thought of him trying so hard and then his parents snubbing him.

"My dad broke my spirit at home too," she told him.

"Your dad? Really?" he looked faintly surprised, but like he was still in his own ravine of thoughts.

"Yeah," she mumbled, sleep still calling her. "It's not really one thing he does, it's all the little things. Like forgetting my birthday and having Christmas a day late. Minor stuff. It just hurts me." Sirius's attention seemed to come back to being fully on her. "I don't know. It just makes me mad that he seems to care more about his students than he does for his own daughter. They've always come first. Even when I was little."

Sirius licked his lips and ventured something he had been wondering since he had found out who Aly was, "What about your mom?"

Aly turned away from him, not sure if she wanted to talk about her mom. The robin had flown off and left Aly with nothing to stare at. She took that as a sign. "She died."

Sirius seemed to want to know more but didn't want to press it. Aly looked at him and captured his face in her mind. His black eyes had seemed to melt back to their luscious brown color and Aly felt compelled to flick the loose piece of hair out of his face. She realized that she had seen him look like this before. After her vision, he had worn the same concerned look, so devoid of mockery or laughter. She had trusted him with that, why not this?

She plunged into the story of her mother and everything that lead up to her, Aly, arrival. Her throat was parched from talking and the beating down sun.

"I killed her." The words came out hoarse and cracking.

"No, you didn't" Sirius said wrapping any arm around her shoulders. "You were just merely the byproduct of what killed her. The birth killed her, not you."

"Well, if it wasn't for me she wouldn't have ever had to give birth."

"But she wanted to you, Aly. She decided to have you. She knew the risks involved. She really loved you."

Aly was unaware that she had started crying, but she sniffled and replied, "I guess she did."

She smiled at Sirius, "We really are two of the same card, aren't we?"

"Yeah, a black spade and a red heart," he joked.

"Those are two different cards!" Aly laughed at him.

"Oh, well."

They sat, together. One of the neighbors came home and they leaned back out of sight. How long they laid there, they didn't know. But each of them basked in the warmth of the slowing setting sun and in the warmth of their new found connection, both were neglected at home and leaned entirely on their friends.

Mr. and Mrs. Evans were both home and Lily was yelling at Petunia about setting the table before Aly sat up. The sun was basically gone. The sky was a vibrant red along the rim of the horizon and it faded into dark blue into black spotted with stars. "Let's go save Lily from James, shall we?"

"Ok," Sirius sat up too. He stood and brushed himself off and held out a hand to pull Aly up. "One question though."

"Hmm?"

"How do we get down?"

Aly smiled at his ignorance and walked to the opposite side of the roof. She held up her hand and jumped up and caught a rope and swung out of sight. Sirius rushed over. "Do it," Aly instructed up to him. "Just I did."

He looked suspicious but followed her lead anyways.

He landed on his butt next to Aly. "It's got a spring charm on it," she explained as she pulled him up.

"You spend a lot of time up there, don't you?" he asked for the second time that day.

"Yeah. It's agood thinking place." She looked slyly at him, "But what happens on the roof—"

"Stays on the roof," he finished for her. They smiled and shared one last moment of friendship knowing that they would go back to arguments and insults after dinner.

"After you, Miss Dumbledore," he swept down into a bow.

"Thank you, Mr. Black." She pranced past him and up the back steps.

A blast of sound boomed as she entered the house. Lily rushed over to her. "We were waiting on you."

Sirius came in behind her. Lily looked slightly scared of him. "He's such a muggle lover, that one," Aly joked towards him.

"Don't you know it," he said with his usual bout of way too much enthusiasm and that set Lily's mind at easy.

"Let's go eat."

"Oh, I'm not really hungry. Maybe I'll have some dessert later. I'm going to lay down for a bit. Alright?"

Lily looked skeptical. "I'll be here, okay? I promise," Aly assured her.

"Alright. This way, Sirius." She turned and Sirius did his weird nod-wink towards Aly. She turned the opposite direction and went back up to her room. She wasn't going to lay down though. She had someone to visit.

XxXxX

That is way long. The longest thing I have saved on my computer. A whole whopping 12 pages for me. Ok, I hoped you enjoyed this chapter. Happy St. Patty's day, if I don't update before then.

Life is full of choices. Like: to review or not to review? There really is no question. You should review. K? Thanks!


	18. The truth about her arrival

Disclaimer: God bless JK Rowling for such lovely characters.

Dedication: to Jebus and the Easter Bunny. Many more years of holiday bliss to them.Happy Easter!

XxXxX

Aly swallowed hard as she knocked on the door. She had never examined the surface of this door, possible the most important door in the whole house. Never in all of her 13 years of existence had this door held such prominence. She normally would have just run through it and knocked something over in the process, but, today, she knocked. This had to be formal. She wasn't going to give him the pleasure of knowing it wasn't.

She had first gone to the school and when she hadn't found him there she went to the house. Funny, she thought, always the house, never "home." This was her second obvious choice of where he would be. He rarely was found anywhere except his two offices.

"Yes?" his puzzled voice came through the sturdy wood.

Aly paused, licked her lips, and turned the door knob. He was standing as if to investigate the knock when no one replied to his call. He stopped mid-air. He was in a mid squat-mid standing position. He stood up straight and looked at her.

Neither said anything and Aly moved further into the room. "I'm not bothering you, am I?"

"Not at all," he replied without any evident emotion.

She had planned everything she was going to say on her way over and now that she was face to face with her father, Aly stumbled. Everything she had thought of went out of her head as if magically erased. She opened her mouth but then closed it. She had absolutely no idea what to say.

"Sit," he instructed her and so she slid into a seat facing him. "I'm not sure where to begin," he informed her looking slightly embarrassed.

"How about when you decided to send spies to Lily's," Aly supplied trying to keep the enmity out of her voice, but failing. She reminded herself she had come to apologize, not to fight.

Dumbledore sighed. "I had to,"

"No," Aly cut him off, "You could've sent me a owl or something."

"Yes, but to send you something solid, like a letter, would have just ended in you ripping it up. Correct me if I'm wrong," he peered at her over his glasses.

Aly's back stiffened as she silently resided against letting him know that he knew exactly what she would have done with a letter.

When she didn't reply, Dumbledore continued, "It was the most logical thing to do. You couldn't ignore a person and I knew if it was myself you would've just slammed the door in my face. So, I sent some of you friends."

"They aren't my friends," Aly stated shortly.

"Very well, we won't argue the point, but it was effective, was it not? You are here talking to me."

Aly suddenly felt the hatred she had been feeling for this man reappear as quickly as a match being struck. His voice rang with triumph from their on-going battle. Aly had lost and realized it was by her own doing. She had come crawling back just like he had hoped. She jumped up swiftly and the chair toppled backwards. She paid it no heed.

She started shouting, the words coming in short burst as she tried to control her anger subconsciously. "You can't just sit there and—thinking you know me so well—you, you don't even understand me! You couldn't even being to understand me, you've never tried. And you sit there, smiling! Thinking you've won, well, you have. You made me come back, but I still don't take it back. I HATE YOU! And I'll say it again and again until it sinks in!" His face fell right before her eyes and she felt her own victory. "Don't make that face—you have no right. You don't love me, you never have. You didn't even want me when I came and you still don't. Why the hell should I care about you if you don't care about me?"

She turned on her heel and stormed to the door.

"Don't go," he was standing up.

Aly paused, her hand on the door knob, and turned back.

"Please sit down," Dumbledore pleaded. Aly, startled, hesitated and then strode back over to the chair and, after picking it up, sat down in it.

"You can yell all you want, but you shouldn't yell things that aren't true." Aly just starred at him. "You say I don't understand you and you may be right. I'll be the first to admit that I don't truly know what goes on inside another humans mind, much less that of a thirteen year old girl. But you also say I don't love you and that is not true. You know it, or at least I hope you do. And then you say," he said slowly, "That I didn't want you."

"It's not a lie is it?" He looked at her as he tried to calculate how much to actually tell. He finally decided that the truth would be better to tell than a sweet story to cover-up a black mark in his life. He sighed and Aly braced herself for what was coming. She could tell it wouldn't be good since his face told her plainly that this was paining him to think about.

"No, I didn't."

Aly's mind went into shock. It was one thing for her to say it herself, but to hear from his mouth was a slap in the face. "What?" she gapped.

"Let me explain," he implored. "You were a great surprised to me. I had a very comfortable life. I was going to be given the role of head master the next school year. I was happy with working and then going home to your mother and living very simply." He looked down at his hand and examined his long fingers as he said this as if too mortified to meet Aly's eyes. "At first I was angry at you. You were the greatest scapegoat in the world. I could blame you for upturning my life.

"Your mother started picking out room colors and toys and things like that. I, however, was harboring a greathate for this—this _thing_—growing inside my wife. I soon became mad at your mother. She was always pushing me about names and doctor appointments. Then this little bulge appeared on her stomach and I blamed you for making my beautiful wife fat."

He chuckled, "I was so ignorant. But I remember," his voice was light-hearted as if amused at the memory he was about to embark on, "Yes, I remember one night sitting in bed with Patricia and she was poking her stomach. She liked to do that. She said it was stimulation so you'd walk earlier or something like that. Anyways, I was grading papers, which I hated doing, and I remember mumbling, I always did that when I graded papers. Well, your mother suddenly gasped and I jumped up and remember being very disoriented because I didn't know anything about babies. For all I knew, she could've been going into labor. She laughed at me and took my hand and told me to 'Feel'. So, with my hand on her stomach, I felt a small twitch."

He chuckled again. "I, being the baby acknowledgeable person I was, asked her what the movement was. She laughed at me again and told me, 'It's the baby.' That was the first time I felt slightly excited about your coming. As your movement became more and more visible and then when your mother brought home a sonogram picture was when I became the most excited."

"I remember the day you arrived," his eyes clouded and his voice lost its carefree tone and it became thick with emotion. "I woke up and your mother told me 'Be careful. It's Friday the Thirteenth.' I kissed her on the head and went to school." His face looked dark and forbidding suddenly and his jaw looked set as he continued. "I got an owl later in the day and went home immediately. I found out later that she was already in labor when I left. I only got the owl at the very end on the whole ordeal. When I got home, she was bleeding horribly and she was screaming. They gave her a potion to ease the pain.

"You were born at about 4 pm. I remember the horrible rip sound that echoed through the room. Then it went silent. I heard a little cry and they put you on your mothers chest so she could see you." He smiled again, "She smiled and touched your head of hair with one gentle curl on top. The healer asked for your name and your mother told her, 'My little Aly cat'."

"That's where my nickname comes from," Aly said in surprise.

"Yes," her father nodded. "She instead you be Alyson with 'y'. She said it gave you character, even though she knew, with your genes, you wouldn't need much help with the character department. I gave you the Patricia, for her, after she passed. She handed you to me and told me to love you like I had loved her.

"And . . . that was it. You feel silent. It was if you knew to be quiet. And that leads us to where we are today. So, you were right when you said I didn't want you then. However, that is far from the truth now."

Aly looked up at him and caught his eyes. "Really?" she whispered.

He looked shocked as he said, "Of course, Aly. I love you." He got up and walked around to the front of his desk. He leaned onto the edge of it and said, "You are the most important thing in the world to me. Despite what you may think at times."

A quick click from the back of Aly's mind happened and she mumbled, "Which makes me most susceptible to Voldemort."

Dumbledore eyebrow raised, "I guess your right."

"Alright, what are we going to do about this?"

"This what?" he asked rubbing his chin, messing up his beard.

Aly stood up and was now pacing across his office.

"Everything," she mumbled, watching her feet as she went back and forth, back and forth.

He smiled at the figure she made, knowing that she had picked up this habit by watching him do it so often. "Ok, for starters, you could come home."

"No," Aly said simply, not stopping. "I find our relationship works best if we have separate time. We spend September to June together, that's enough."

Dumbledore wanted to push the subject further, but stopped, knowing it would only make her anger again. "Ok, then what else is there?"

Aly stopped. She bit her bottom lip as she thought. She turned to him finally and said, "This Voldemort guy, you think he'll be bugging me anytime soon?"

"No, you aren't any use to him yet."

"Well, then we can discuss him at a later time then, right?"

"If that's what you'd like."

Aly thought he was being too kind and too vague with his answers, but decided not to say anything. She was getting her way. "Then I better go," she finally said. "No one knows I left. They might worry."

She started to leave, turned and went over and hugged her father briefly. "Bye dad," she said departing. "Just let me know if I should be extra careful of Voldie."

And with that she was gone from his life, again. Little did she know that he had placed charms on her as she left. At least now, he would be able to watch her safety from distance.

XxXxX

Let's "keep it simple, stupid." Review. Blunt and to the point, the best way to put things.


	19. The Disappointments

Disclaimer: nothing here is mine. Darn it all to heck!

Dedication: to The Big Easy. Yet another hurricane only this time it's a massive one. Prayers and hope for well being to them. And to my local soldiers who have recently died in Iraq. Without them and all the other brave men and women who have fought for everything America stands for, I wouldn't be able to write this. God Bless them and their families. Freedom isn't free.

A/N: sorry if somehow this overlaps with "Connecting" but I wrote this without re-reading that one and realized that they are a lot alike. ButI really liked this so I decided I'd let it go. I hope you enjoy!

XxXxX

Aly had slipped silently through the backdoor when a voice rand out, "And where have you been?"

She jumped in surprise and let out a sigh of relief that it was only Sirius in the kitchen.

"None of your business," Aly said simply. She wished for once that the wall that had been between her and Sirius since they had first met could just completely crumble because what she had just learned wanted to break free from her, but she couldn't bring herself to tell him this horrible news despite what had happened earlier in the day. True, she was free of her dad every summer, even though she'd rather have Lily come to her rather than stay in the same house as Petunia, but the other information she had received still burnt a mark in her mind.

She looked at Sirius, who was leaning back casually in a chair, and he seemed complete blank. His face held no emotion and his body was very relaxed.

Her mind still reeling about her own home life, something Sirius had said earlier rang in her ears. "So, really, what is it with your parents?" she asked casually.

His entire body changed in an instant. His spine went rigid, he sat up straight, and his face was suddenly very alert.

"What do you mean?" he asked, trying but failing to sound calm.

She walked over to the refrigerator and leaned into it so all he could she was her bottom and she replied, "Just wondering." She stood up; pop can in hand, "Really? What's the big deal? Just tell me."

"Tell me about your visit first," he said looking suddenly like a 5 year old. Aly felt pity for him, for she had rarely seen this look of defiant innocence on his face. For even in his most juvenile moments, he always held himself with the grace of an adult that's seen too many wrongs and lost all hope in the wishes and dreams he had once held. He lacked a basic part of life, Aly thought. It was a part of her own life she clutched to so desperately and prayed would never be wiped away. She clung onto her childish naïveté of the world, as small as they may be after everything that had happened to her, and he was missing them; except in these extremely rare moments such as this.

"Ok," she said slowly sitting down across from him, "I will."

He nodded slowly, his lips pursed together, as if he had expected her to give in, but Aly knew he was as surprised as she was to hear her agree. Something inside her wanted to reach out and give him a piece of her innocence she knew she still had. To just let him be naïve for a short moment in time.

"I want to see my dad," she started.

He nodded, "I suspected that much."

Aly licked her lips, sighed, and then pressed on. He sat silently while she poured the entire story out. She felt like the part of her that had been burnt by her father's confession had been eased. It was as if he had reached over and blown gently onto the cut like Aly had done to herself when she was little. She had seen mothers do it to the other children in Hogsmeade and found a comfort in thinking it was her own mother blowing onto her wounds rather than it just being her own breathe. It was strange to feel one of her few connections with her mother being connected to Sirius.

She let out a very deep breathe as she finished and, with her head bent down, her chin touching her chest, she stared at her hands. She wasn't sure how he'd respond to it all.

She looked up at him after he stayed silent and saw that the maturity had returned to his face and realized for the first time that his beautiful face was slowly gathering lines around his eyes and his brow. She wanted his little boy to come back, but wasn't sure how to bring it about. She half shrugged to herself and then said, "I just never expected him to actually not have wanted me."

He looked up from the table looking startled that she was sitting there. He seemed very deep in his own thoughts. "Chin up, Als," he told her bitterly, but trying to smile, "It could be worse."

She was about to correct him by telling him not to call her "Als" but her curiosity took over. "How so?" she asked her own face becoming overcome by the lines that had started on her own beautiful face. However, like they did to Sirius, they only increased her beauty and his breathe caught for a moment. He cleared his voice as Aly's eyes formed an inquisitive glance.

"My parents wanted me," he stumbled quickly into his explanation, the words coming out in a rush. "But they grew to hate me." Aly nodded, but still was over come with the urge to argue the point but he held up his hand in protest. "They do, no arguing. You wanted the story and I'm going to give it to you, but no interruptions."

Aly's mouth twisted to the side and she nodded silently to show she understood and agreed to the condition.

Sirius nodded back for different reasons. His mind filled with thoughts of how to address the situation before him. Aly could tell that he too, like her father, was struggling with giving the candy-coated version or the truth of his story. The hard look that over took his face told her that she was going to get the truth.

"You can't imagine how proud they were of having a new son to turn into, and to use your word, a droid. They expected me to be just like them. Or more so, just like my father." He stopped for a spilt second and looked over Aly's shoulder at the oven door, which was still glowing slightly which meant Mrs. Evans had saved Aly some food. "I can see him," Sirius still staring off into space. "Tall, smug, greased; his pockets jingling slightly from the gold he carried around. I used to think it was so neat that my dad could do that, but now I realize he only does it to intimidate people. Bastard," he swore snapping his head to the side. He was breathing heavy. Aly could tell if he had been anywhere else he would have hit something just to ease the tension building inside of him, but she also knew he wouldn't violate the hospitality of the Evans'.

"I turned out so wrong in their eyes." He said it almost apologetic. Aly understood that feeling. The feeling that you did something wrong and it was your fault that your parent didn't pay as much attention to you. She also understood how people like Sirius' parents thought and acted and believed under no circumstance should he feel sorry for not being what they wanted and she told him so.

He looked at her and summed up his thoughts with his face slightly glowing with a deep resentment. "Your dad loves you just as you are. In spite of the fact that you are everything he tried to keep you from being."

She was at a loss at these words. How was she everything her dad had wanted to keep her from being? His face lightened slightly. "You don't know, do you?" A smile spread across his face. It was a smile an adult would give a small child who is worried that it was true that Santa wasn't really and Aly felt defeated by it. She had wanted him to feel like the child for once, not the other way around.

"He wanted to keep you from becoming him," he explained kindly, "But you went one step further and you became an even better version of him." Aly opened her mouth but, once again, was cut off. "I was supposed to be my father. The next big Mr. Black." He lowered his eyes, "But I failed. And you're right. I'm better off for not being him. Or _any of them,_" he snarled.

"Yes you are!" Aly said slamming her hand down on the table. She made a face as she realized that she had probably given away their privacy.

Sirius looked over his shoulder as if expecting someone to walk in, but when no one did he turned and looked at Aly. "Give'em time."

They looked at each other for a time. How long, Aly didn't know. Then, just as he predicted, a head popped around the door.

"There you are," Lily said.

"We were wondering where you went," James added from behind her.

"Yep, here we are," Aly said, catching Sirius' eye noting that the conversation was over and that somehow they had managed to take one step further in breaking down the barrier between them. "The Disappointments, front and center."

Sirius smiled and keeping his eyes locked on hers, the back of his head the only thing visible to Lily and James, replied, "Yeah. The Disappointments."

XxXxX

Partay! It's done! Yes it took me a good 5 months to write and a mere 4 pages in Microsoft but it's done. I'm sorry it took so long, but I didn't realize that anyone actually read this. But a warning, it may take just as long for the next chapter and so on. I promise, promise, promise to be as quick as possible but I'm in college now and it's a lot harder to find time to write on the side, but I solemnly swear to be as quick as possible!

As always, review!

-Later days-

-aim---->


	20. Strange happenings

Disclaimer: I own nothing you recognize.

XxXxX

Third year started with a bang, literally.

The sorting had just finished and everyone was settling down at their tables when a loud explosion went off. What looked like confetti filled the air and began to float down onto the students. It wasn't until it landed on the table that Aly realized what it actually was. They were slips of paper with ancient ruins symbols on them. She wrinkled her brow as she wondered what they meant.

Lily, however, gasped.

"What?" Aly asked, looking at the reddening Lily. She just curled her nose and huffed before slamming down the slip onto the table top.

Realizing that she wasn't going to get an answer, Aly sighed and turned back to her meal. She flicked off the pieces of paper that had landed on her plate with her fork and continued in silence. Lily did the same.

As dessert showed up on all the tables, Aly suddenly realized the absence of the Marauders in her close proximity. She saw them, way down the table, Peter and James looking rather angry, the latter especially.

Their absence the rest of the summer had not gone unnoticed. As quickly as they had shown up was as quickly as they had left. She wondered why after all that happened, (she wouldn't admit it but between her and Sirius especially) why they would leave without a word and not be seen again til now. She hated to admit it but the train ride had been rather boring without some of their antics.

And now, they weren't even here to save her from Lily's angry silence. She sighed again. Lily paid attention to her this time. "What?"

"Nothing," Aly said quickly. She straightened up and shook her shoulders as if shaking off her whole train of thoughts.

They made their way to the Gryffindor tower in a rather uneventful fashion. When they climbed into their beds, it was Lily who finally voiced what Aly had been thinking, "What happened to the boys?"

Aly pretended to fluff her pillow as she asked, "What do you mean?"

Lily pulled her legs up under her covers. "I dunno. I just anticipated some sort of grand stunt." She added rather bitterly, in a low tone, "Besides the offensive one, anyways."

Aly decided to overstep the reference to dinner knowing it was Lily's way of trying to get Aly to ask her what all the symbols had meant, sending her, Lily, into an angry rant. "Yeah. I wonder if something happened between them over the summer."

"I'll tell you what did happen. They destroyed my couch and killed the batteries in my remote," Lily snorted.

Aly rolled her eyes. The batteries had been replaced, no problem. The couch, however, did fall victim to a jumping attack from Sirius. He had never seen a couch like Lily's in an actual home. Aly imagined what kind of furniture he had been exposed to at his parent's house or even at Potter Manor. She imagined stiff, all wood, upright chairs with dark upholstery and deep carvings of snakes and griffins. She had seen him enjoy himself jumping up and down on the Gryffindor couches but they were protected by spells to prevent wear and tear. Lily's couch wasn't so lucky. However, Aly managed to make it seem like Petunia had been the one who broke it. So at least she had gotten something out of it.

Aly laid down and closed her eyes. Lily was still talking to her. By the tone of her voice, Aly could tell she was ranting about something. She breathed in deep. It was raining outside and the soft pitter patter of raindrops against the window was soothing. The smell of summer had been trapped in the unused room. The shuffling of one of the other girls made the floor creek. Mary was reading on her bed. Melanie was brushing her hair. Aly smiled and whispered, "Home."

XxXxX

Breakfast was uneventful. So were the first day classes. Aly wondered what happened to the boys. They were unusually quiet all through the day, and, once dinner was over and they had settled into their usual round table in the corner of the common room, their behavior was even odder. Remus sat down and opened his book, which wasn't odd at all, but then the other three followed suit. James still looked rather angry from behind his book. Aly could tell that Sirius wasn't really reading but rather just trying to have something to do while he leaned on the back two legs of his chair and bounced. Peter was writing furiously as he kept quickly looking down into the book on his lap.

Aly looked back at the fire and twisted her nose. She was bored and Lily was off at the library or somewhere. She wasn't sure. Melanie had learned that Mary had moved onto the same street as her over the summer and had befriended her and so they sat at a table not far from the Marauders. They kept giggling about something. Aly suddenly felt very alone. She went back to watching the fire and let an extremely low rumble in her chest. It may have been a cry if it would've made it all the way out of her body. She felt so empty and the rumble made her feel like she had a coin in her metal tin of a chest. If she shook herself, she was sure she would've been able to hear it.

Suddenly, a burst emitted from the hearth of the fire and shot across the room in the form of a ball of fire.

The occupants of the common room either scrambled out or under furniture for shelter. Aly just merely watched it swoosh around. For some reason, it hadn't startled or scared her. When it landed, she knew why. Fawkes almost glided onto the back of a chair. He gracefully spread his wings to shake off the ash that he had acquired by coming out the Gryffindor hearth and tilted his head to look at Aly. She smiled at him.

He let out a gentle coo and raised his left leg and left wing. He lowered them and raised his right leg and wing. He seemed to be doing a sort of dance. Aly recognized it. He used to do it for her when she was a very, very small child to stop her crying.

Aly clicked her tongue to her teeth and raised her arm, and Fawkes swooshed and landed on it. Aly petted the soft-feathered head and let him jump onto her knee to perch.

The students who had hidden from the intrusion had reappeared. Most seemed slightly intrigued by the big, red firebird but went back to what they had been doing after a few moments of observation.

Aly sat with her bird and felt the coin inside her chest disappear. She knew when worse came to worse she always had Fawkes. And so they sat. Aly had no need to move and Fawkes had no where to go, being a bird and all. Lily came in long after the common room had begun to empty for the night looking rather ruffled. She said nothing to anyone and rushed up the stairs. Aly had sent her a small wave as she came in and lowered her hand awkwardly as Lily brushed past her.

The Marauders were all still sitting quietly, ignoring each other. Sirius' eyes weren't on his book though. He focused his chocolate browns on Aly. He hesitated a moment before flinging down his chair. The crash of wood on wood caused the other three boys to jump. Sirius stood and, after brushing his legs off, he made his way over to Aly.

"Uh, hey," he started waving goofily, but, as suddenly as he entered the room, Fawkes was up and at Sirius' head.

"Dude," Sirius called, arms over his head as he ducked from the bird.

"Fawkes," Aly said alarmed trying to call him off. Over in the corner, she saw Remus stopping Peter from moving forward to help with his arm and James smiling almost triumphantly.

Anger burst inside her and she snapped loudly, "FAWKES! COME HERE NOW!"

The bird paused midair, looking oddly hurt, never hearing Aly raise her voice at him before, and swooped over to her shoulder. He clicked at her ear gently as if to say "I'm sorry." And after Aly stroked his neck as if to say, "It's okay," he sent an angry look at Sirius, who was still standing where he was and looking rather confused.

"Go to bed," Aly commanded sharply.

"What?" Sirius said startled.

"Not you," she said at him lightly, as if to not cause more damage to him.

She petted Fawkes head and repeated, "Go." She nudged him with her shoulder and he cooed once more before disappearing into the fireplace.

Aly scratched her head and turned to Sirius, "I'm so sorry. I don't know what got into him. He's never done anything like that before."

He still looked perplexed but said with a simple shoulder shrug, "It's ok."

"WHAT?!"

James was standing up now. He looked furious. "After you got attacked by that damned bird, you're all just 'It's ok'? What the—"

Remus hurriedly cut him off because some second years were sitting in earshot, "James."

"Don't you 'James' me."

"I'll do as I please, thank you."

"This is none of your business."

"Yeah."

"Shut up, Peter," James snapped. Peter muttered, "Sorry," and sat down and scrunched up in his chair.

"Don't talk to him like that," Sirius snapped.

"I'll talk to him however I like."

"Peter, don't let him talk to you like that. Stand up."

Peter started up out of the chair, but James snapped, "Sit down and stay out of this."

Sirius barked, "Get up."

"Sit down."

"Stand up."

"Sit Dow—"

"ENOUGH!" Aly bellowed. She looked on at the scene, eyes bulging slightly. Peter had been bouncing up and down, in and out of his chair and was red in the face. Aly may not have liked him, but she still felt bad for him.

"Peter, go on upstairs," Aly said kindly to him.

"Don't tell him what to do," James said, not as loudly as before but with more venom then he had shot at any of the boys.

"You shut up," Sirius replied still angry, but also quieter. James looked like his head might just pop off with rage, but before he could reply Aly cut in.

"Peter, you have your chance. Either take it and run or sit there til they're done yelling."

Peter looked at James then at Sirius, perplexed, unmoving. Remus nodded and said gently, "Go." And then he got up and scurried up the stairs with one reproachful look back.

"Now," she said turning towards the boys, "What is going on?"

When neither of them spoke, Aly sighed. She scrunched her mouth up and twisted it to the side crossing her arms over her chest.

"I'd like to know too," Remus finally said as the silence proceeded on. "This has to be more than what happened on the train."

"What happened on the train?" Aly asked dropping her arms.

"Uh—" Remus trailed off. James was shooting him a very angry look.

"Nope," Aly threw up her hands, "Never mind. I don't want to know." She didn't want to be the start of anymore drama. And with that, she turned and went upstairs.

She heard James start whispering angrily at Remus, and as she turned the first bend in the winding staircase she looked back over her shoulder. Sirius, who was still standing in eyesight, sent her a small smile.

She climbed into bed not feeling remotely tired. Lily's curtains were drawn back. Aly normally would've taken notice, but tonight her mind was else where. Sirius had come over to talk to her. What was he going to say? What would've happened if Fawkes hadn't been there? Would James have still have thrown a fit? And why did she even care? Why was she acting like a silly, giggling girl lying in bed wondering about a boy? She shook her head and rolled over, but she fell asleep with a smile on her face.

XxXxX

The next day things did not seem any better between the Marauders. Lily seemed remote and drawn back too.

"Lils, what's going on?" Aly asked at lunch.

When Lily didn't respond, Aly poked her in the arm with her fork.

"Ouch! What was that for?" Lily asked angrily, rubbing the red spot left by the fork.

"Oh, I didn't poke you that hard."

"What do you want?" Lily snapped.

Aly was taken aback and it showed on her face. She actually felt tears welling up in the corners of her eyes, which made her even more upset.

Lily sent a look over her shoulder towards the Slytherin table before she turned and her normal motherly nature took over. "Oh, I'm sorry, Als. I've just got a lot on my mind."

"I can tell," Aly remarked wiping the tears with her sleeve before they could escape from her eyes. "What's going on with you?"

Lily hesitated. "Well," she glanced at the Slytherin table again, but, before she could turn back and answer, Sirius sat down next to her.

Lily jumped as Sirius slide his arm around her shoulders. She looked at him skeptically, but he just smiled a big toothy grin back.

"What are you doing?" Lily asked coldly, obviously still not over her couch being destroyed.

"I'm having lunch," Sirius replied, ignoring Lily's tone. "Mmm, breeeaadd." He grabbed the basket and pulled it towards himself.

Aly almost chuckled as he tried to push three slices of bread into his mouth at once. Lily looked over at him in grotesque.

"Why aren't you with your brain dead friends?" Lily said glaring as he attempted to chew the bread with half it still outside of his mouth.

"What friends?" Sirius asked, spraying Lily with bread bits.

She took a deep breath in before apparently making the decision to stay calm and wipe the bits off of herself. Lily eventually returned to her quiet, drawn off state while Aly covered her mouth with her hand and tried to keep from laughing as Sirius continued to eat, shoving potato into his already filled mouth. Aly knew this wasn't how he ate and that he was merely doing it to annoy Lily and, part of her hoped that he was doing it, to amuse her.

Towards the end of lunch, a group of Slytherins walked by. The oldest, or at least bulkiest boy, muttered "Mudblood," as he passed the three of them.

All three of them shot up in attention. The group continued on towards the door. The last and smallest boy in the group turned and Aly recognized the resemblance at once. Regulus Black had his brother's good looks but did nothing to enhance them. He had almost steely black eyes as apposed to Sirius' warm brown. He had an air of arrogance that the rest of the Slytherins also held. His eyes were narrowed. Sirius stood up immediately and walked over to his younger brother. The rest of the Slytherins stopped and turned as well.

Sirius, who towered over Regulus by about four or so inches, walked up to him and stared down. Regulus returned the same look of contempt.

"Go away," Regulus said through clenched teeth.

Sirius replied by first spitting his mouthful of chewed bread and potato into the face of the boy who spoke and then said to his brother, "See I would, really I would. I wouldn't want anyone to see me associating myself with such," he pretended to struggle for the word, bouncing his fingers, and pursing his lips before continuing, "Let's just say 'riff-raff.' But here's my problem: you spoke unkindly to my friends."

"We only spoke to the mudblood," a blonde haired boy pointed out.

"See, again, with that word. Can't you all come up with something more original? I mean, come'on, that word is older than, well, McGonagall."

"What's your point, Siry?" Regulus snapped.

"Well, Reg," he replied, obviously annoyed by the use of his nickname, "I want you all to apologize."

There was a "ha" from inside the group followed by a general agreement of amusement.

"Fine, have it your way." He turned and went back to the table and grabbed another piece of bread as he sat down.

"What are you going to do?" Aly asked in fake whisper, trying but failing to hide her laughter.

"Hell if I know yet," he replied with a shrug.

Lily just stared at him. Aly, however, continued to watch the Slytherins as they left the hall. She made it a point to strain her neck so that it would call attention to them. As they reached the door, a whole pile of dirt just fell from no where onto them.

Most of the people in the hall laughed. Regulus sent an angry look at Sirius before following the rest of his group out the door in a rush.

Sirius could not contain himself. "That—was—awesome!" he choked out between laughs. "You?" he pointed at Aly as he continued to laugh.

She just shrugged and smiled. "Better than anything I could've thought of off the top of my head," he told her, still laughing hysterically.

"Doubtful," she replied skeptically. Sirius was the king of random pranks, but she took the compliment with pride. "They talked bad about my Lily. Someone needed to teach them who really has the muddy blood."

"Mud?" Sirius asked confused.

"What? It was a quick spell and I missed the water part."

Lily sat still, looking at the dirt on the floor that McGonagall and Filch had started to attempt to clean up.

"I guess dirt is dry mud. Doesn't matter though. Definitely taught them a lesson." Sirius had settled down. He was still holding his side, but he had controlled his laughing enough to be able to take a drink of water.

"Well, they needed to learn the true meaning of mudblood. It's all the damned inbreeding. Messes up the brain cell transmitters, I think." Aly, realizing as soon as she had said it that Sirius had been related to one of those boys, and therefore inbreed as well, stuttered quickly, "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean, I just … oh boy."

"It's ok," he said. "I know what you meant," he patted her hand as he smiled at her kindly.

Lily seemed to come back into focus as this happened. "Thanks," she muttered.

"Oh, your welcome," Aly said cheekily. "Anything for my bestest."

"Yeah, anything for our Lilyflower," Sirius added pinching her cheek. She pulled back looking dumbstruck and hurt. With that she got up and stormed off, inching around the dirt in the doorway as she fled.

"What'd I do?" Sirius asked concerned.

"Lilyflower is what her parents call her," Aly told him, looking slight perturbed as well. "It must've spooked her to hear it come out of your normally foul mouth."

His mouth formed an "O" as he looked towards the door she had just left out of. "Should I go say sorry?"

"Nah. Just let her be. She's been acting really weird lately, anyways," Aly said stabbing what was left of her now cold potato.

The hall begun to fill with the sounds of feet shuffling and books thudding. "Time for class," Aly said standing up drearily.

"Finally! Nap time!" Sirius said yawning. They were off to history so Sirius probably would get a good nap in.

Aly was just hoping to find out what was up with Lily as she grabbed her own books and let Sirius walk her to class.

XxXxX

It was almost as if the school had started to feel the absence as well as the students who dwelled in it. It seemed to be a lot less tense when one would walk through the halls. Doors opened more easily, doors that were pretending to be walls were more compliant, the ghosts were much happier to give directions. The only person who seemed not happy with the change was Peeves. And this would've been fine had he not taken to throwing chairs at students in whichever hallway he was in.

And well, maybe one other person was a little bit sad by the absence of the Marauders: Aly. She found the school far too quiet for her taste. She had grown used to the pranks and fun that came along with the constant disobedience of the four boys. She got detention for the dirt dumping and was very miserable at the thought of having to spend it alone.

She felt even worse for Remus. He seemed stuck in the middle of whatever feud it was James and Sirius were having. In the beginning, he had tried to spend most of his time moving back and forth between the two: having lunch with one and dinner with the other. However, Aly could tell this was a strain on him. Lily asked him about it during lunch with the two of them and Sirius one day, why he didn't just give up the back and forth and sit with Peter. Peter had clung to James' side, but it was obvious that he too was miserable.

And so it seemed that the Marauders were kaput. James had his flock of Quidditch girls that surrounded him at meals, Sirius had settled in with the Gryffindor girls, and Remus and Peter sat somewhere in the middle. Melanie and Mary had suddenly decided to start eating with Aly and Lily after the third straight day of Sirius having lunch with them. They mostly just sat and starred at him the whole time and, after having Mary scream and throw some napkins at him when he had attempted to talk to them, Sirius had learned to just ignore them.

XxXxX

"This sucks," Aly grumbled packing up her books in the common room one night.

"What's wrong?" Sirius asked, leaning back on his chair like usual, his feet propped up on the coffee table in front of the fire. One night, he had grabbed his usual chair and brought it over by the couch Lily and Aly had been studying on. James had put up a protest. It ended quite tamely though, Sirius keeping his chair where it was and James sitting back down at the Marauders' table. And thus it became Sirius' spot. Aly was quite happy about it because with his chair there no one dared to take their couch.

"Nothing is wrong. She's just bellying aching," Lily mumbled as she fiercely scanned her transfiguration book.

"You'd be belly aching too if you had to spend an evening of detention with James and Snape," Aly griped back.

"Yes," Lily said putting down her book and looking at Aly smugly, "But I wouldn't start a fight in front of a teacher's office either."

Aly sighed. She wasn't going to argue. She had just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. James and Snape were going at it in front of McGonagall's office door and Aly had come in to stop them. So she got detention too when McGonagall found them.

She turned to Sirius and said, "It should be a refreshing break from all the love that's in the air here."

He smiled and just rocked back. He had become a quiet figure around them. Aly wondered if it was out reverence for Lily. She had been reluctant to let Sirius hang around them, seeing that he was always loud and obnoxious when with the Marauders. But he had, thus far, won Lily over by just sitting back and observing. He didn't even butt into any of their conversations. He was cool and collected, but Aly could tell that he missed the Marauders.

At quarter til seven, Aly headed off towards McGonagall's office. Lily left with her but headed right outside of the portrait hole towards the library. Aly hadn't gotten very far when she heard the portrait door swing open and squeak shut. She paid it no attention to it until she heard the rubber of gym shoes running towards her. She glanced over her shoulder before stopping and turning around. Sirius came running up to her looking rather gloomy.

"Can I come with?" he asked.

"Why?" asked Aly skeptically.

"I just … please?" Sirius looked at her so helplessly.

"Ugh, fine. Just come on."

They walked silently towards McGonagall's office. Sirius had his hands balled up in his pockets and his head down. Aly could tell something was wrong but chose to ignore him. When they reached the room, Aly paused and felt her impatience rise as Sirius still seemed to examine his feet.

"Okay," she snapped, "I'm going."

When he didn't reply, she awkwardly said, "Cya."

She had already turned the door knob, but before she could push into the room, Sirius' head snapped back, and, with a forced smile, said, "I'll wait for you here."

Aly let go of the door, and, with her hand on her hip, snapped, "Why?"

He just merely shrugged and sank down onto the floor.

"Seriously?" she asked incredulously. "Seriously?"

He just stuck out his lower lip and nodded. "Look," he looked at her sheepishly, "I have a bad feeling about this."

"About what?" she snapped.

"Don't go," he said simply.

"You want me to skip detention?" She was confused. Not because he wanted her to avoid spending a few hours with two boys who not only hated each other but her as well, but because of the way he really looked upset about her going. He was looking down at his feet as she asked, "What's going on?"

She tried to look at his face, but all she got from him was a "Please." She was taken aback by his tone.

"Okay," she agreed.

His head shot up and he looked hopeful as he said, "Really?"

"Sure," she shrugged. She didn't really care, and he really seemed to not want her to go. They both stood awkwardly for a few silent moments before Aly asked carefully, "So, what do you want to do?"

"I dunno" he mumbled.

"Well," Aly snapped, "I can't go back to the common room cause eventually Lily will be back and I can't let her see that I skipped."

"Let's go see Hagrid," he suggested, still looking tense.

Aly took a second to pull herself from her reeling mind, but when she said, "Okay," she had obviously perked up at the idea. Sirius' mood seemed to change a bit too.

They set off in silence. The night wind was harsh. Aly pulled her cloak around herself, muttering angrily since it had been warm enough for shorts the day before. They hurried quickly across the vast lawns of the school, both keeping an obvious distance from the other.

Sirius banged on the hut's door sharply as Aly tried to pull her cloak as tightly around her as possible. After a few seconds, Sirius knocked even harder on the door.

"He's not here," Aly said through her clattering teeth. She didn't have enough layers on to protecter her from the sharp bite of the wind. She began to violently shiver as Sirius disappeared around the side of the hut. She sank down onto the slight step that was in the front of the large wood door she leaned back against. She pulled her legs up and buried her face into her knees.

Sirius reappeared.

"He's not here," Aly repeated, muffled as she spoke into her knees. "We would've heard Fang bark."

She felt something fall over her, and realized that it was his cloak. "You're gonna freeze," she yelled after him as he disappeared from her sight again.

She was so cold that after a moment she didn't worry about him and, instead, took in the warmth and smell of his cloak. Behind her, she heard him yell something.

"What?!" she yelled in response but toppled backwards as the door behind her opened.

"I said 'Watch out,'" he said standing over her, light streaming down around him, a grin on his face.

"I didn't hear you," she mumbled pulling herself up. He sighed, grabbed her under the elbow, and drug her into the center of the room. She glared at him from her back as he stepped over her to shut the door. A fire was lit and she could tell it was just built by the way the flames flickered.

"How'd you get in here?" she asked she pushed herself up, his cloak falling to the floor.

"Simple," he said motioning towards the window. It was barely big enough for Aly to get through.

"How'd y--"

He cut her off, "We'll wait a little bit to see if Hagrid comes back soon." He put the big, black pot Aly had come to associate with visits to Hagrid (mostly because tea was the only thing edible that Hagrid had to offer during visits) on the flames.

She took off her cloak and settled into Hagrid's oversized arm chair and pulled a quilt down around her. Sirius took a seat in one of Hagrid's wooden table chairs and smiled at the fire.

"This is nice," Aly ventured, not wanting to break the tranquility of the room. Sirius nodded but didn't look at her.

Aly leaned back against the worn down chair and closed her eyes. The crackle of the fire was nice as she felt herself warm in its glow.

She dozed off and was awoken to a loud banging and yelling.

"Get'cha outta here, ya dirty--" Hagrid's roar was deafening in the small hut.

Sirius had jumped up and was trying to calm him down.

"Hagrid! It's just us!" Sirius tried to yell at him, but Hagrid didn't seem to hear him.

He was still yelling as he waved his crossbow around. Aly jumped and ran in front of Sirius, pushing him back out of harms way.

"HAGRID!" she screamed.

Through his wet, tangled hair, Hagrid caught sight of a head with bouncing brown curls.

"Aly?" he questioned.

"Yes," she gasped, breathless.

"What'cha doin in here?"

"Can you please lower your bow?"

"Oh, sorry bout that," Hagrid mumbled as he moved around the room. He sank into a chair across from where Sirius had previously been sitting. Sirius' hair was disheveled as Aly turned to make sure he was alright. She put his collar flat and he suddenly stiffened and moved away from her. Aly turned back to Hagrid, choosing to ignore Sirius' reaction.

"What was that all about?"

"Sorry," Hagrid said roughly. Fang, who had collapsed onto the rug in front of the fire, let out a whine as Sirius ignored him and laid the two discarded cloaks in front of the fire. He seemed to busy himself with trying to flatten out the wrinkles.

"I jus wasn't expectin anyone to be in here," Hagrid explained.

"What was with the bow?" Aly asked taking Sirius' seat.

"Oh, that. Noticed that, did ya? Yea, well, see bout that--"

Aly rolled her eyes at the oversized man in front of her. He had to be the worse liar on the face of the planet.

"Hagrid, come'on. Just tell me."

"Fine," he caved easily. "BUT," he boomed sending Aly and Sirius into the air, "Ya two aint hear it from me. Alright?"

Both students nodded. Sirius came back over and sat down at the table. Aly couldn't help but notice that he sat on the very edge of his chair, as far away from her as possible.

"I was in the forest. Dumbledore give me a special mission. I'm suppos'd to be the lookout." Hagrid's chest puffed out in pride.

"Lookout for what?" Sirius asked.

"Dunno. But its very import'nt. He's very worry'd bout whatev'r it is. Somethin may be tryin to get into Hogwarts throu the forest. Nothin to worry bout, Als. I'm best person for the job. Ain't no guard dog bett'r. 'Cept for maybe Fang there." Hagrid turned a happy smile towards her as he tried to reassure her.

Her face had lost all its color and she felt dizzy. She tried to breathe in deep, but it felt like her lungs had swelled and could no longer take in air. The room started to turn black, but a very different type of black than she was used. Instead of disappearing into the black, panic swelled around her trying to pull her back to the real world.

Sirius had sprung from his chair and had her around the shoulders trying to keep her up. "Aly? Can you hear me?" He sounded far away.

"What's goin on?" Hagrid was caught in the distance too.

"It's okay," she heard Sirius tell him. "This has happened before. She'll come to."

"Wha can I do?"

"Just get a wet clothe or something to put on her head."

Aly felt the ground come up around her and the wet clothe hit her head. She struggled to pull her mind back into the light. Everything still felt like it was being squeezed through a tiny black tunnel. She saw Hagrid leaning over her and Sirius suddenly came right up in her line of vision.

"You okay?" he asked, concern on every part of his face.

She tried to answer, but only managed a groan. He smiled at the sound.

"I'll take her back to the school." He disappeared and Aly heard him reassure Hagrid, "She'll be fine."

She felt a cloak, warm from the fire, fall over her. Sirius pulled her up into the sitting position. Things became a little clearer as her head became up right. She heard to door and realized that Hagrid had gone outside.

"I'll carry her," Hagrid said. She looked at Sirius and said, to him, "I think I can walk." Her voice cracked slightly.

He smiled and helped her onto her feet. "I got'cha, Aly." Hagrid had come over to scope her up.

Aly glanced at Sirius, desperate.

"I've got her, Hagrid," Sirius said stepping in. "I'm going back to the castle anyway. You don't need to go out of your way."

Hagrid looked startled as Sirius threw the other cloak around Aly's back and tucked the one on the front of her so she was completely covered. He swooped her up causing her to grab his neck to regain herself.

He was out the door before Hagrid could protest. He followed them however.

"Hagrid, you don't have to worry. I've got her," Sirius called over his shoulder.

"I ain't lettin ya two walk back alone. No, sir."

As the castle came more in focus, Aly noticed three figures in the doorway of the Great Hall. "Put me down," she hissed.

Sirius did so and Aly moved forward. His arm slipped around her waist as she walked.

"Seriously?" she snapped.

"Don't push my buttons. I'll pick you back up." She could here the smile in his voice.

They had almost reached the stairs when Aly recognized the tall outline of the headmaster and the stiff stance of McGonagall. She couldn't tell who the third shape was.

"Aly?" her father called out.

She didn't answer. Sirius' grip on her waist became tighter and then she realized it was because he was literally lifting her up the stairs. She barely had time to be mesmerized by his strength before her dad, McGonagall, and the nurse pounced on them.

"Are you alright?" McGonagall questioned.

Aly whispered, "I'm fine," weakly.

Dumbledore's eyes seemed to be on the hand on her hip. Aly felt a twinge in her chest.

"Dad?"

His eyes looked up and met hers. "Yes?"

There was no concern for her health or safety in them. Instead, Aly saw disgust.

"Mr. Black," Dumbledore said moving his eyes over to him, "I think you can go upstairs."

He hesitantly let go of Aly's waist. She swayed and he caught her around with his arm.

"I think I'm fine here, sir."

"No," Aly snapped. "I think we should go upstairs." Her swaying had nothing to do with her fainting. A burst of anger had rippled through her unexpectedly and she wasn't going to give her father the upper hand in the situation.

Sirius looked at her and studied her face. "Okay," he said slowly.

Aly slipped the hand he had placed on her hip into her own and smiled wickedly as they moved past.

There was no argument from below. Aly heard a sudden rush of whispers, but ignored it.

They reached the common room and Sirius took her right to the stairway. "Can you make it, alright?"

"I'm sure I can."

"Do you wanna talk about--"

With a sigh, Aly told him, "Tomorrow. We'll talk about it tomorrow."


	21. Kisses and Cuts

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Both here and else where as well.

--

Aly's head felt very fuzzy and heavy the next morning.

She had gone straight to bed when she had reached the room. She had pulled the curtains back the second she fell on the bed, hoping to avoid Lily.

It had worked. Either Lily was asleep or she realized that Aly didn't want to talk.

Aly woke still wrapped in both cloaks, on top of the made bed. She pulled herself up and peaked around to see that Lily was already gone. After showering and dressing, Aly, still feeling fuzzy, headed down to the common room. She didn't find who she was looking for so, with the the extra cloak draped over her arm, she headed to the Great Hall.

She found Lily sitting alone and sank down next to her. Lily didn't acknowledge her though.

"Lily."

There was still response from her.

"Lils," Aly whined and let her head fall onto Lily's shoulder, partly because she wanted Lily's attention, but mostly because her head was beginning to feel to heavy to hold up.

"What's wrong?" Lily droned, sounding dead and empty.

"Issue with my dad," Aly mumbled, slightly hurt by Lily's disinterest.

"Anything new?" Lily asked.

Aly pulled her head up and looked at Lily. She hadn't notice that Lily's whole body seemed off. She sat stiff backed, staring straight ahead, her hands clenched into fists around a piece of paper.

"Lils, what is wrong?" Aly was suddenly concerned. A bubble of fear filled her chest and squeezed her heart. "Lily?" Aly moved to take the piece of paper from her. Lily didn't resist her, but she didn't move. Aly finally managed to get the letter from her. She noticed the graceful handwriting of Mrs. Evan. She scanned it quickly and the bubble in her chest burst. Tears started to sting her eyes and she gasped as she tried to take in a few deep breathes. She went to hug Lily, but Lily snapped, "Don't."

Aly pulled back and watched her. Lily hadn't changed her stance. In fact, it was if she hadn't even moved.

"Aww, Lils," Aly said soothingly.

"Shut up," Lily snapped again turning to face Aly. "Just shut up. This is none of your business."

She had stormed off before Aly could process what had happened. If only her head wasn't fuzzy, maybe she could have been able to stop her.

Sirius sat down across from her, having witnessed the whole thing. "What was up with her?"

Aly merely handed him the letter. He began to unfold the letter when McGonagall swooped down on the them. "Miss Dumbledore," she seemed to emphasize the last name.

"Professor?" Aly's head had taken in too much already today, she didn't want or need this.

"You missed detention last night."

"Yes."

"You'll have to serve two more to make it up."

"I know," Aly mumbled.

"Off to class then."

Aly got up, grabbed an apple, and reached over the table to hand Sirius his cloak.

"Thanks," he said brightly, standing up and slipping the letter into his back pocket. He seemed ready to walk her to class.

"Mr. Black," McGonagall said, "Please wait a moment. I have something to discuss with you."

Aly left the two and headed to Charms. Sirius slipped in 5 minutes late. Lily was MIA. Professor Flitwick talked to Aly after class and followed her all the way to Ancient Ruins. Aly realized the pattern throughout the day. Either she was never alone or Sirius wasn't. Slughorn help Sirius up and invited him to lunch. He held him over because he was late for their next class and then was asked to discuss his homework assignment in Care of Magical Creatures.

So when Aly sank into her usual seat in Transfiguration, McGonagall looked rather pleased to see her alone. Aly would've been more upset by this if she hadn't been so worried about Lily. Class started and Lily didn't appear, but Sirius snuck in about 10 minutes late. He quickly and quietly took Lily's usual seat. McGonagall nearly jumped out of her skin when she turned around and saw him sitting there, quickly copying Aly's notes.

The door creaked open again and McGonagall turned sharply to face the student.

"Sorry, Professor."

"Take a seat, Miss Evans."

Sirius jumped up to move back a row and give Lily her normal seat, but she rushed to the seat behind Aly before Sirius could. He looked confused, so did McGonagall, as he sank back down into the seat next to Aly.

The rest of class went by without incident. After class, McGonagall called Aly up to speak to her. "I'll wait," Sirius whispered to her before he left the room.

McGonagall waited for the room to clear before asking, "What is going with Miss Evans?"

Aly was surprised. "Oh, you wanna talk about Lily?" She had anticipated talk of the boy boy currently waiting outside the door for her. "Um, she's not feeling well today," Aly said slowly.

"That's it?"

"Yes," Aly said simply.

"Alright." McGonagall's lips were pursed tightly and she looked as if she didn't believe her. When Aly reached the door, she heard her say, "Watch out for her."

Aly nodded and left. Sirius stood off in the shadows. "No chaperone?"

"You noticed, huh?"

"Your dad definitely has a whole army to do his dirty work for him." Sirius seemed to find the whole situation funny.

"This isn't humorous."

"We could have some fun with this you know."

"How?"

"Oh, you'll see. Just play along at dinner, alright?"

She hesitated. It was never a wise thing to 'play along' with Sirius. "Fine," she finally agreed as she watched him pull the letter out.

"I haven't read it yet," he said noticing her eyes grow wide. Aly just nodded.

"Hey, when does your dad normally eat?" he asked unfolding it.

"Early," Aly stated not taking her eyes off of the letter.

"We should go then." He stuffed the letter back into his pocket and grabbed Aly by the wrist.

When the reached the Great Hall, Sirius wound his fingers through hers. She was about to protest, but they were already in the hall. They moved along near the front of the Gryffindor table in obvious view of the teachers. They sat and ate normally. Sirius seemed to sit closer than usual and he gently touched her casually. Aly smiled at him, both of them silently laughing at their inside joke. Aly thoroughly enjoyed dinner, too much for her own good she told herself. Sirius was great company. He carried the conversation and Aly laughed for the first time that day. It felt good to be out of her real life for a while. Just before they started dessert, his stray hairs fell into his face. Aly reached out and flicked them back to the side. She felt the electricity that had been suppressed. They held eyes for a moment then both turned back awkwardly to finish eating.

They stood up to leave together. Sirius leaned forward and buried his lips into her hair and whispered, "Time to take it up a notch. Don't be surprised."

Aly tried to make it seem like she wasn't waiting for something as Sirius caught the attention of a Ravenclaw. "I'll be right back. Wait for me?" he asked.

"Sure," she beamed, she had seen her father watching them very closely.

Sirius leaned in, his hands on both sides of her face, and gave her a full on kiss. It lasted a good 15 seconds.

"Be back," he said moving over to the Ravenclaw table.

Aly sat down, trying to look impatient, her heart going a mile a minute. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw her father stand to leave.

Sirius reappeared. "Let's go." He wrapped his arm around her neck and she put hers around his waist. She leaned up and gave him a peck on the cheek. They left and kept up the charade until they reached the portrait hole.

They burst into the common room, both laughing uncontrollably. Sirius tripped over the edge of one of the carpets but continued to laugh.

Aly caught the back of one of the chairs. She suddenly straightened up, her laughing coming to a quick stop.

Lily sat on their usual couch, her eyes red and puffy, but dry. Aly didn't say anything, but watched her intently. Sirius suddenly popped up next to Aly, still holding his side.

"Lily, what's wrong?" he asked, his breathe coming in sharp gasps.

She swallowed and asked, "Didn't you hear?"

He shook his head.

Lily turned back to the fire. After a few short seconds, she announced, "I think I'll go lie down." She meandered up the stairs slowly.

"She's a breathing zombie," Sirius simply. "What is going on?"

"I think its time you read that letter you've been carrying around all day."

She took the spot Lily had just vacated as Sirius pulled out the rather crinkled letter. He scanned it, as Aly held her breathe, and then he reached the point that had to be read aloud:

"_I wish this were something that I could tell you in person. Well, realistically, I wish this were something that I wouldn't ever have to tell you, but with you being at school this seems to be the best way I can think of. I found a lump, and after tests, it appears that I have Stage 2 breast cancer. _

_Now, Lilyflower, I don't want you to worry about me. I'll keep you completely up to date on everything, but you need to stay focused on school. Your father and I are so proud of you. Keep up the great work. You are amazing student and daughter. _

_Tell Aly we send our love._

_I love you,_

_Mom"_

Sirius sank down into his chair. He stared at the letter. "Aly," he whispered, "You need to go talk to her about this."

"I know." Aly stifled a sob that was threatening to break through her throat. "But she says it isn't any of my business."

"So?" Sirius asked sounding rather annoyed.

When Aly didn't reply, he barked at her, "Go help her."

The tears that had been brimming in Aly's eyes suddenly spilled over. "There are more important things than following directions," Sirius told her, more kindly this time.

Aly nodded and stood, bracing herself for what she was about to handle. Sirius stood as well and came over to her, looking torn. After a few seconds of deliberation, he pulled her into a back-breaking hug. Then with one glance over his shoulder at her, he was gone.

Aly stood for a moment, dazed, then shook her head from side to side to remove him from her thoughts. She took a deep breathe and headed upstairs.

Lily was sitting on Melanie's bed when Aly walked through the door.

"Why are you on Mel's bed?"

Lily looked around, "Oh." She got up and moved over to her own bed, turning to Aly for conformation that she had picked the right one this time. Aly nodded and Lily scooted back against the headboard.

"So," Aly started, "You missed class today."

Lily shrugged.

"And lunch with pretty boring without you."

Another shrug came from the bed.

"And your mom has cancer."

Lily's jaw set.

"She seems to be coping okay."

Silence followed.

"Look, Lily--"

"I told you this was none of your business," Lily growled.

"So?" Aly echoed Sirius.

Lily crossed her arms and turned her head so she couldn't see Aly.

Aly continued, trying to sound casual, "She'll probably have to get chemo. Her hair will fall out. She'll be sick all the time. She won't be able to eat much and she'll get way too skinny." Aly moved towards Lily, her voice becoming more and more thick. "Petunia will have to be the one to take care of her. Your dad's gonna need someone too. And if things get really bad, she may even die." Aly had stopped in front of Lily. Her arms crossed as well. "But, if you want to pretend nothing is going on--"

"STOP." Lily yelled, "Just stop!"

"Lily, you can't ignore this," Aly's voice cracked as she raised it as well.

"This is none of your business!" Lily shrieked jumping up onto the bed. Her hair was flying, her face was red, and her fist were clenched.

"Yes, it is!" Aly screamed back.

"No. It's. Not."

"Your mom included me in that letter. This involves me. What the hell is your problem? Why are you so suddenly against me being part of your family?" tears were streaming down her face. "What did I do? Why don't you want me anymore?"

Lily stared down hard at the comforter of her bed. "It's for our own good."

"What?"

Tears began rolling down Lily's cheeks as she took a seat on the edge of the bed. She sat silently for a while as Aly stood watching. "I don't want you involved in this," Lily finally explained, "Not because I don't want you to be part of my family, but because--" she took a deep breathe and paused.

"Go on," Aly urged.

Lily looked up at Aly, anguish clear on her face, and whispered, "I don't want you to have to lose another mom."

Shock rippled through Aly. "Really?"

"Yeah," Lily said. "I knew as soon as you knew that two things would happen. First, it would make it real. I couldn't ignore it or hide from it once you knew. Secondly, there would be this guilt. You have so much to deal with already. Why should I add more to it? I am so, so, _so_ sorry," she said as she buried her face into her hands.

"Lils," Aly sat down next to her and hugged her, "You don't need to worry about me. I just wanna be here for you. We'll get through this. She'll get through this."

Lily nodded into her shoulder and sobbed. Aly rubbed her back gently just as her father had done for her when Lennox had died. It brought on a bad feeling in Aly's chest. "No one's dead, Lily," Aly announced, not really sure if it was for hers or Lily's benefit. "She'll fight. She's tough."

Lily nodded and blew her nose into the tissue Aly offered her. Aly watched her try to pull herself together. "Ok," Aly told her once she seemed to be in better control of herself. "You need to eat."

Lily sighed heavily.

"You'll feel better once you do," Aly promised.

Lily didn't agree, but she let Aly lead her down to the Great Hall.

Since Aly had already eaten, she sat and sipped pumpkin juice watching Lily closely as she ate. She couldn't help but notice that her father was back at the head table. He was deep in conversation with McGonagall. If Aly hadn't respect her so much she'd be upset at how much the professor conspired against her with her father. Sirius showed up again as well. He sat with Remus, Peter, and James. Aly smiled. Hopefully, that meant that the Marauders were reunited. It had been much to quiet for her taste.

Lily picked up her pace of eating after picking at her food for a couple of minutes. Aly smiled into her juice as Lily went for seconds. Mary and Melanie appeared as Lily went for dessert. They stood behind Lily, staring at Aly, eyes scrutinizing her.

"What?" Aly snapped, their eyes making her feel uncomfortable.

"Is it true?" Melanie asked.

"Is what true?" Lily asked, looking slightly hurt for being left out of something.

"That she's with Sirius Black," Mary explained angrily.

"What? No, she's not." Lily turned looking curious, "Are you?"

"No," Aly said quickly.

"But people saw you two kissing earlier."

"There was no kissing," Aly said exasperated. "Just _a_ kiss."

"You kissed him?" Lily looked concerned.

"It was no big deal," Aly explained, her patience wearing thin. "It _won't _happen again."

"Why?" Mary looked skeptical.

"Uhm," Aly thought quickly. She couldn't explain what they had been doing, so she settled on saying, "He's not really my type."

Both Melanie and Mary looked at her, surprised.

"Whatever," Mary finally said, rolling her eyes. They made their way down the table to where the Marauders sat where they stopped to talk to them. Aly watched for a second, trying to see Sirius' face, wondering if they were inquiring from him an account of the events. She decided quickly that she didn't care either way what he had to say, and turned back to Lily. Lily tried to read Aly's face, but seeing nothing there, went back to her cake.

As they finished in silence, Aly pondered the predicament she had gotten herself into. She hadn't thought about the consequences of hers and Sirius' little game at all.

"I'm not dating him," she announced suddenly.

Lily looked up at her, "Ok."

"No. Seriously. We didn't go out. We didn't hook up. We didn't _do_ anything. We're just friends."

Lily smiled knowingly at the "friends" comment.

"And not with benefits!" Aly snapped.

"Fine," Lily said shrugging.

Aly's blood filled her face. Was everyone going to think she was just another one of his hook ups?

Damn him, she thought. Life was always easier when she stayed away from him. She sighed in defeat and put her face down on the table as she waited for Lily to finish. She was glad to see the Marauders leave with Melanie and Mary before Lily and her got up.

Sirius' chair was back at the table and their couch was taken when they reached the common room. Lily had some of her color back as the made their way over to a table in the far corner by the window, but she wasn't much company as she was focused intently on the homework Aly told her had been assigned.

Aly felt like crying, but she wouldn't. She pulled up her diaphragm. She was stronger than that. She promised herself, no more tears today.

After an hour of focusing on her breathing, she gave up and trying to appear normal.

"I'm going to bed."

Lily didn't look up from her work, but mumbled, "Don't wait up."

Aly got in bed and pulled her curtains shut just in time. Melanie and Mary had just made their way upstairs as well.

XxXxX

Aly's days passed in a drag. Lily had made up the work she had missed that terrible day and was working even harder to prove that she was still one of the best students. Sirius was suddenly ignoring, which was fine by her. Apparently, many girls had taken a sudden, intense disliking of her as well. That didn't bother her either.

She looked for something to occupy her time since Lily was always buried beneath books and Aly found little comfort in extra school work. She had originally turned to Quidditch, but that had taken a turn for the worse since James and Sirius were reunited. So she turned to the teachers, and so Professor Sprout had become her savior.

In one of the greenhouses normally off limits to third years, the professor was growing a bunch of some strange foreign plant that Aly had forgotten the name of as soon as Professor Sprout had told her. They huddled in their pots, under the dirt, some where impossible to see, but when provoked they had long tentacle like arms with spiny, poisonous spikes on them. These spikes needed to be removed. The problem was that they grew back within 24 hours time.

The first time Aly encountered the plants, Professor Sprout had made her gear up from head to foot and stand back 20 feet from the plants. The plants wrestled with Sprout and the whole thing to be a bit daunting to Aly. At first anyways.

After a few days, she allowed Aly to actually help and Aly soon realized that it was Sprout's slow nature that made the job hard for her. By two weeks end, Aly was doing about two plants a minute, no gear at all. Sprout eventually left her to handle them alone, becoming nothing more than a bystander.

Aly found peace among "her" plants. She could completely indulge herself in the task at hand. It became something totally and completely hers, something she had never had before. Well, not something that made her happy anyways. She managed to skip her Sunday meetings with her father, still not having talked to him the night that she and…_him_ had been to Hagrid's, since Lily saw her leave and never thought to question it.

The cuts she acquired on her fingers were easy to hide or have assumed were obtained by her own klutziness. As were the ones on her arms. But the plants continued to grow and eventually needed to be transplanted into bigger pots. Professor Sprout insisted she help Aly with this one Sunday night.

"Oh, I wish these spikes weren't so valuable" she shrieked as she attempted to move one.

Aly would've asked what Sprout needed them for, but she never got the chance. One of the smaller plants wrapped itself around her arm. She lifted it without hesitation, put it in its new pot, and buried it in dirt. It released her arm as soon as it was safely under its dirt.

Sprout watched her do three more plants like this and decided that she was no use. She left Aly alone and Aly was grateful. She worked quickly and happily, moving each plant from one pot to another. She had just about finished when she found a particularly large, and stubborn, plant that did not want to be moved. Aly finally managed to get it in its new pot, but it took a bit of her with it.

Her face was covered with gashed along with her neck and collarbone. She tried to ignore the stinging coming from each open wound. This pain was much more sharp than the sting she normally experienced from the cuts of the smaller plants. She finally got the last few plant transplanted, being more clumsy and cumbersome than normal.

She made a straight beeline for the shower after she finished. She let the hot water clean her cuts and did her best to embrace the pain. It didn't subside like usual, though. She dressed and went down to the common room to brush her hair and find Lily.

Lily had regained their normal couch, and she was so enthralled in her homework that she hardly looked up at Aly.

"How's your dad?" she mumbled.

"Fine," aly replied simply wrestling with her brush. She worked through her hair slowly. It always took her a long time to get her wet curls untangled from one another. She finally finished and sank down next to Lily and pulled out her charms book. She began to write her essay with ease. She had paid very close attention in her "useful" classes, charms being one of them. She was preparing. For what, she'd never admit aloud, but secretly she was preparing for this Voldemort her father had told her of. She tried to not think about him because that thought always brought back the memory of the night in Hagrid's hut.

She was as deep into her essay as Lily was when a "Holy crap!" startled both of them as well as the rest of the common room.

"What on earth is going on?" Lily asked confused and irritated as she tried to blot the ink she spilt on her paper.

"Oh my Aly," Remus said coming over to see her face closely. "Did you go see the nurse?"

"For what?" Lily asked pausing in her attempt to save her essay. Remus didn't answer as he took Aly's chin in his hand. His face, the premature wrinkles deepening, was right next to hers as he inspected her cuts. James leaned over his shoulder to see too. "Gnarly," he commented. "How'd you do that?"

"Do what?" Lily jumped up and came around to see Aly's face. She gasped, "Oh, Aly."

She turned to Remus, "What should we do?"

"Nothing," Aly told them, pushing Remus' hand away. "I'm fine."

Remus disappeared, and James and Peter filled her view. Lily was back at her books, flipping frantically through the pages. Aly heard a scuffle and then a sharp, "Move."

James and Peter were suddenly replaced with Sirius. Aly's eye narrowed. Sirius hesitated for a moment, sending a quick glance at James, then let out a low whistle. "Wow, Als, what's you do?"

Aly snapped her head to the side, facing Lily. She refused to acknowledge him any longer. She heard another scuffle and whispering, and Sirius spoke to her again, "You should probably go to the nurse."

She ignored him and grabbed her homework again and continued with it.

"Aly," Remus made his way over to her. "You should really go see the nurse. Those cuts look infected."

Lily mumbled to herself over her book.

"Remus, I'm fine. Really."

He frowned and shot a quick glare at Sirius. With a loud sigh, Sirius suddenly yelled, "Nurse. NOW." Again, the occupants of the common room jumped, including Lily. However, Aly barely flinched and didn't even turn to look at him.

"Aly," Remus stressed, suddenly reminding her of her father.

"You know what," Aly snapped her book shut and jumped up, "I think you have a lot more to be worried about this week then me, Remus."

She turned and went up to her room. Anger still seething through her as she finished her essay and tried to sleep.

--

review. please :)


	22. Cleaning out old wounds

Disclaimer: If I owned anything below, I'd be rich. I'm not rich. Carry on.

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"What was Aly talking about last night?" Remus asked Lily in the library the next day. Aly was in between rows of books looking for a book to assist her with her transfiguration essay.

"What do you mean?" she heard Lily ask.

"About me having enough to worry about this week." He sounded upset.

"I don't know," Lily said sounding completely honest. Remus would never be able to guess that she knew what Aly had been mentioning.

"Ok," he sounded relieved.

"Why?"

"I was just curious." Yes, he had played it off well.

Aly felt the guilt of her outburst the night before wash over her as she heard Lily whisper, "She won't go to the nurse." She completely underestimated Aly's hearing abilities.

When she heard Remus' response, she could tell that he was frowning, "I'm working on that."

Once she was sure he was gone, Aly returned to her spot next to Lily, who showed no sign of informing her of the conversation that had just taken place.

Just what Remus was "working on" kept her from really focusing on her essay.

XxXxX

Aly had really put consideration into going to the hospital wing. Two things stopped her though. One, she had made such a fuss about it to begin with, she couldn't hurt her pride and bend now. And two, she was sure she'd have to give up working with her plants and as strange as it was, she had grown to love them, each individual one. She knew it was crazy to become emotionally attached to potted plants, especially ones who were growing to have very potent poison, but she couldn't bring herself to stop going to see them.

In class, she kept her hair pulled around her face as much as possible. It didn't seem that any of the teachers noticed. The cuts refused to heal though and Aly worried they soon would. She had allowed Lily to try different concoctions and potions on them, but they all just gave Aly temporary relief from the constant stinging. None of them actually helped heal the wounds.

Aly finally decided to take it upon herself to get them looked at when on the Thursday after the incident occurred she awoke to find that the cuts had taken on a disgusting yellow color.

She refused to be seen like that and huddled in her bed, not even allowing Lily to take a look. After Lily finally left for class, putting up quite a fight to convince Aly to join her, Aly jumped out of bed, plan already constructed.

She knew her father usually took the first class time to stroll around various parts of the school property, whether for enjoyment or state of mind that all was well within his school grounds. He would then lock himself in his office until dinner time came around, occasionally being seen for lunch, depending on how stressful his morning had been. So, Aly knew she had that one window of opportunity to make her escape.

She reached her father's office, backpack stowed over her shoulder, and paused. She didn't know the password since she hadn't been coming to see him. It had to be something having to do with sweets. Aly stood and went over all the previous passwords she could remember. She whispered as many candy names she could think of, but there was no avail. The gargoyle merely stared at her.

She stomped her foot and loudly exclaimed, "Oh, fudgesicle!" filling in the more mild cry for the more vulgar one she would've preferred to use.

The gargoyle stepped aside and the staircase appeared. Aly let out a single laugh of astonishment and made a mental note to thank Lily later on for insisting she clean up her language.

She sprinted up to the office and peaked in. With no sign of her father, she slipped in, closing the door behind her. His fireplace was the only one in the castle open to the Floo Network, but she had no idea where to go using that. So she turned to her trusty phoenix.

He cooed quietly on his perch as she came over to him.

"Listen, Fawkesie," she told him, petting his magnificent head, "I need you to get me to a muggle hospital. Can you do that?"

The bird let out a brief cry and Aly smiled. She knew she could count on him.

She remembered when she had claimed him as her own. She had been about three and she had been in that very same office. She had demanded her father let her play with the bird who always sat so high out of reach. He always insisted no. Not because he hadn't wanted her to see Fawkes, but because he worried what would happen if a unary toddler got her hands on the bird. Or worse, how the bird would react to being allowed into the clutches of such a child.

She had cried and cried and finally he had allowed her to see the bird, if and only if the bird stayed perched on his arm. With a gentle hand even at three, Aly touched the bird's neck and they were instantly bonded.

It would be two years later when Aly would walk up to her father's desk, look at him with such determination, and announce, "I want Fawkes."

Not completely understanding the sediment, the headmaster had merely motioned his hand towards where the bird sat.

"No, I want him to be mine. I want him to come live in my room."

The look of determination was set so hard upon the small face, becoming more and more like her mother's every day, that Dumbledore had to try hard not to laugh.

"Oh, alright," he caved and called after quickly as she bounded for the bird, "But be careful with him."

She had given him a small smirk and what could've been an eye roll before telling her new pet, "Home." She grasped his tail and was gone in a flash of flames.

And that was how she stood now, ready to take leave in the best sort of fashion. In a flash, they were gone and Aly landed gently on her feet in front of a rather large, rather busy building.

The bird made a chirp and Aly released his tail. He flew up and landed gracefully on a nearby tree branch. He settled himself as if telling Aly that there is where he would stay until she returned.

She entered the building and made her way to the front desk. The lady behind it wore a nice pant suit and was busy talking on the phone and looking something up in a large binder. Aly stood happily waiting til her attention would turn to her.

"Yes," her voice was very deep and rusty. She was obviously a smoker. Aly had heard the same kind of rasp come from some of the cigar smoking ministry friends her father had.

It took her but a moment to realize why Aly stood before her. "What'd ya do, honey?" she looked puzzled by the young girl covered in deep yellow cuts that was stand quite happily in front of her.

"I got cut by a plant."

"A plant?"

Aly realized that she had to make something up. Her real story wouldn't fly here. "A bush. A rather large bush. I went through it and it cut me." She smiled largely at the woman, who seemed to be extremely put off by her attitude towards the situation.

"Here," she told Aly, in her husky voice, handing her a small card. "Go up to the third floor and give this to the person at the front desk."

"Ok, thank you!" she nearly skipped away.

Once on the elevator, it became apparent to her just why she was so giddy. This was not only her first trip to a muggle hospital (an adventure on its own), it was her first trip without any sort of supervision. No father, no Mr. or Mrs. Evans, no Lily. She beamed as she stepped out of the elevator onto the freshly waxed third floor.

She got the same facial reaction from the nurse who helped her there and was instructed to take a seat. She sat, happy to just observe the people around her, and waited. She hadn't noticed how much time had passed until she realized that she was watching the muggle noon news. Had she really been there that long?

She pondered about going to ask the nurse if it usually took this long, but waited until after the news went off. At 12:30, she addressed a different nurse who promptly took her back to a room. They passed many of what Aly assumed was the standard hospital rooms with beds and chairs. Her room was more of a smaller cubby. She settled onto the examining table and waited as the nurse fumbled around with her taking her blood pressure and temperature. She promised a physician would be in soon.

And again, she waited. Aly tried to keep from going stir crazy, she wished she had grabbed a magazine from the waiting room, but there was little avail. She was pacing when the doctor, a young, dark haired man, entered the room. He looked over her face and neck looking quite duped on what had caused it. Aly relayed the bush story as he pulled out a small glass tray and some silver instruments.

He informed her that he was going to take a sample of whatever was inside her cuts and promised that it shouldn't hurt too bad. He tore through her skin and she felt such a deep burning she let out a harsh gasp. She settled herself by biting down on her lower lip. She wasn't one to let on about any pain she was experiencing.

He left her to take the sample to the labs. He returned with two other doctors, an old looking male and a very unattractive, fierce looking female. They too looked on confused and curious. As they whispered and grunted at each other, poking and shining lights on Aly as they did, another doctor appeared. He informed her that he was a dermatologist. What that was Aly wasn't sure, but she realized what was finally dawning on her: her cuts were magical. Those plants were unknown to the muggle world. Aly knew now that she should've realized that before making the trip.

She began to freak out. What if they refused to let her leave? What if they turned her into some kind of science project? As she sat and seriously considered bolting, the door opened again.

A fairly decent looking doctor entered. He was middle aged with dirty blonde hair and glasses. He carried an air of familiarity that Aly couldn't place. He was holding a clipboard and looking over Aly cautiously.

"Good evening, doctors," he said, his voice soft and comforting. They all looked at him oddly. "It seems that this is a case I'm going to have to take care of."

They all nodded, understanding that that was their cue to leave.

"Poor thing," she heard the oldest doctor say as the door closed. Aly's eyes widened with fear.

"Hello, Alyson," the doctor said taking a seat. "How are you feeling?"

"Fine," she mumbled tightly, her back rigid.

"You can relax, dear. Everything's going to be fine." She didn't though.

"Why did those other doctors look at me like I was going to die?" she asked, not breathing.

"Oh," he waved his clipboard to motion her to ignore the notion. "It's because I only take on special cases. Most patients don't go on file."

Aly didn't blink, but felt a new quiver of fear.

"So," he eyed her again, curiously, "Do you go to Hogwarts?"

Aly's jaw dropped. "How--" she was too shocked to finish her question.

"I work for the ministry," he said, a gentle smile coming across his face, "It's my job to watch for muggles with magical ailments. I treat them, report it, and remove all traces of the case. So what year are you?" He was so calm Aly was sure her was used to this type of response.

"Third," she responded automatically.

"And your here alone?" His eyebrows went up and his forehead creased. He flipped to her file again. "You're related to the headmaster?"

Aly grumbled a "yes" and folded her arms in defense.

"Grandfather?" the doctor ventured.

Aly felt shock move through her yet again. "No!" she shrieked. The doctor looked shocked by her outburst. "Father."

"My apologies." He looked thrown off. "I spend most of my time in the muggle world. And, of course, I know who your father is and have heard of his child, I just wasn't aware that you were so young."

Aly sniffed, but said nothing.

"Again, my apologies. But shall we move on to what brought you here."

Aly unfolded her arms and sat ready for the worse.

"It won't be difficult to heal the wounds," he told her.

"Really?!" she was excited.

"But it will be painful."

"But they'll be gone, right?" She just wanted to get rid of these yellow marks.

"Yes," he nodded.

"Let's do it!" she beamed.

He disappeared and returned with a thick purple paste and more of the same silver instruments.

"Ready?"

Aly took a deep breathe, "Yes."

She closed her eyes as he ripped each wound open, scoped out all of the yellow fluid (some he had to dig for), and smeared the purple paste on it. Aly never let on to the fact that it hurt. She merely held her breathe, exhaling deeply as the doctor turned to clean his instruments.

He finally finished and asked, "How are you feeling?"

"They still burn," she said sounding disappointed. She had hoped that the pain would be alleviated quickly.

"The paste is cleaning the cuts and keeping them from refilling. It'll probably hurt for quite a while. You can put a cold compress on them to help soothe the pain."

She nodded to show that she had heard. He began to clean up the area and Aly ventured a question, "Do you know what the spikes from the plant that caused this are used for?"

He turned to look at her, his grey eyes sparkling. He smiled and said simply, "Many things."

He turned back to his work and Aly's eyes narrowed slightly. She hated when adults wouldn't tell her the straight facts of a situation.

"You're good to go, Miss Dumbledore."

She jumped down and headed toward the door. He followed her out.

"What will you do with my lab work?" she asked curiously.

He smiled and reached into his pocket and pulled it out. He winked and bid her a good night. "And try to be careful, Aly."

It took her a moment to realize that he had called her by her nickname. How had he known that she went by Aly?

She watched him move down the hall. Another doctor passed by him and the two nodded in each others direction.

"Dr. Russell."

"Dr. Lupin."

Aly's smiled realizing that she had just met Remus' father. No wonder he looked familiar. Aly was surprised that he was blondish, but then again, Remus' hair was prematurely gray.

XxXxX

Aly was starving, but decided she was too tired to deal with the looks her purple plastered face was bound to cause. She wanted to go lie down in her own bed, but Lily found her before she could and refused to let her go. So Aly settled for sinking down on their usual couch. She crossed her arms across her chest as she stretched out and closed her eyes.

Lily grabbed a chair from somewhere and sat down by Aly's head. She immediately began to interrogate her, but Aly merely ignored her. Lily eventually gave up and took it upon herself to fill Aly in on what she had missed in classes that day. That was a lot easier for Aly block out and she began to doze off. In her stream of semi-consciousness, she could still hear Lily, and it comforted her.

She had missed Lily. She seemed to be disappearing more and more these days. She had spent a lot of time out of the common room in their first year at Hogwarts, especially in the evenings. Second year, though, she had started spending more time in the common room. But she had picked up the same routine again recently. Aly never bothered herself with asking where she went. She just assumed she was doing something studious. It didn't make Aly feel any less abandoned though. She had no one else to talk to (besides her plants).

Aly was waken by an argument. She pulled herself up, her body stiffened by sleep. She looked over at who was causing the commotion. She wasn't surprised at all to see that it was James and Lily. Aly peered over the arm of the couch and observed the situation. Apparently, the chair Lily had taken had been James' usual seat.

Remus stood behind James looking angry that there was an argument going on at all. Peter stood to James' left, bouncing with excitement, James' own personal cheerleader. Not that he needed it. He had six or so (depending on the day) first and second years, who were standing behind Lily, who had taken to following him around. Sirius was in his normal seat, leaning back on the back two legs, ignoring everyone and everything around him. It appeared that he had found a muggle comic book and was reading it with a look of mild interest on his face. Aly looked back at Lily. She was definitely mad. Her face was as red as her hair.

Aly felt the tightness in her chest start.

_Oh no_, she thought taking in a very deep breathe.

This was always how her visions started. She pulled herself up into a more upright position and grabbed her chest. She had to stop this. She didn't want this to happen.

But it did.

She had closed her eyes to focus on her breathing and suddenly she was being sucked into the usual tunnel with the flash of green light at the end. She heard a woman scream which was followed by a fit of laughter.

Aly's eyes sprung open. She had a dull feeling on the left side of her head. She looked to her right and realized the coffee table had been shoved forward. She must've rolled off the couch and then (after the coffee table had been moved out of the way) had been flipped onto her back. Sirius, Remus, and Lily were all crouched down around her. They all looked worried.

Remus was the one who ventured to speak first, "Are you okay?" He whispered this.

Aly nodded, but grabbed at her head. Lily explained why the pain ran through it, "You hit your head on the table."

"Figured that," Aly replied adding a loud huff of a sigh after.

She went to pull herself up and all three of her audience members looked concerned by this movement. Remus put his hand on her shoulder to hold her in place. If she hadn't been so tired, she would've insisted more, but, as it was, she was happy on the ground and settled with her defeat.

"Do you need anything?" Remus asked. Aly thought but a second and asked, "A cold compress?" He smiled, much like his dad, and was gone.

"I'll get her pillow," Lily added.

Sirius was the only one left with her. He came and sat on the floor by her head. He hadn't said anything to her yet and what he choose both did and didn't surprise her.

"Hey."

She smiled at him. It was so like him to no show his concern, but Aly thought maybe he really just wasn't concerned.

"What's up?" he asked.

"Not much," Aly said jokingly.

"What's with the splotches?"

"I went to the hospital today." If he was surprised, he hid it well. "The purple stuff is healing my cuts."

"Well, it's a good thing purple's your color," he joked as Remus and Lily both reappeared.

Sirius reached up and took the cold compress and the pillow. Lily looked taken aback as he tenderly placed the pillow under Aly's head.

"May I?" he asked motioning to the wet clothe. Aly barely nodded when he put it on her forehead. She inwardly laughed as she rearranged it. He had obviously misunderstood the need for it. She moved it down to her collarbone since those cuts still stung the worse.

The four of them were all silent. Aly on the floor, Sirius sitting next to her, and Remus and Lily standing behind the couch looking down on her. Aly closed her eyes and realized that she was very comfortable on the floor. The rug was warmed from the fire and her pillow was much softer than the couch.

Remus and Lily decided to get started on their homework, but only after Lily whispered to Sirius, "Is she gonna be okay?" Sirius must've nodded because Aly heard Lily grab her books. After that, the only sound Aly heard was the gentle crackling of the fire.

The portrait hole creaked open and shut. The next noise made Aly's hands fly up and cover her ears and caused her teeth to grit together.

"Pick it up!" she heard Lily screech over the noise. It was followed by a defiant, "Make me."

James had apparently disappeared and reappeared, claiming his chair back, and dragging it with unbearable noise. Once it slammed down, Aly knew the noise was over and relinquished her ears. She heard Lily call over from the same direction James had moved into in a weak voice, "Is she still sleeping?"

Aly opened her eyes to see Sirius nod at Lily, but then winked at Aly. A comfortable quite fell upon the whole common room.

After some time, Aly asked Sirius in a whisper, "Don't you have to do your homework?"

He looked surprised. "Me?"

Aly realized that it was Sirius Black that she was talking to. "Oh right."

He smiled, but not at her, more at the couch. He looked over at the table where everyone else sat and his smile slide right off his face. He looked scolded as he turned back to look at her.

"Ohh, James," Aly breathed. His eyebrows came together, questioning her without words. "He's why you haven't talked to me."

Sirius merely lowered his gaze, confirming her statement. Aly sighed and closed her eyes. She needn't ask or know anything else at the moment.

"I won't be forced to make a choice again," he whispered.

She looked at him, he had closed his eyes as well. "Why?" Aly was confused. James was to Sirius what Lily was to her. Granted, Lily would never force her to pick her over someone, though.

Sirius turned tortured eyes upon her. "I let this happen to you."

"What?!" She tried to sit up, but he held her down by placing a hand on her shoulder.

"Dream?" he asked quickly, staring at her weird.

Aly realized he was trying to keep Lily where she was and said, "Yes."

"She's fine," he told Lily.

"Maybe we should move her upstairs. Or to the nurse--"

"She's already gone back to sleep," Sirius said simply.

He waited a few minutes before turning back to Aly and whispered, "You heard me."

Aly couldn't understand how he thought this was his fault. She laid there for a while, thinking.

Sirius finally sighed and explained in a hushed tone, "As soon as I started to ignore you you started working with those stupid plants."

She flicked her eyes to him quizzically and he looked upset as he said, "I've been following you."

"When? How many times?" Aly felt annoyed and slightly excited.

"Every night," he mumbled. Aly propped herself up on her elbow, not saying anything, her mouth hanging open. "Aly," he started, but suddenly snapped, "Shut your mouth. It's not becoming." She closed it and turned her mouth into a pout.

"As I was saying," he sent her a sideways glance and Aly saw the sparkle in his eye. He was laughing at her. "You, my dear, are so stubborn. I was worried that letting you wonder alone would lead you into trouble. But I couldn't tell you."

She pushed her eyebrows up and together.

"Alyson, Alyson, Alyson." He shook his head in mock disappointment. "What would you have done if you heard me tell you not to do something?"

She suddenly smiled, realizing that he was right.

"It wasn't easy," he said as he put his hand on her shoulder and made her lay down again. She rolled onto her side though so she could look at him. "I couldn't let you see me. I had find a way to get away from the other three, usually I told them I had detention, but then I had to find time during the day away from them so it would seem like I had actually done something."

Aly watched him talk. It amazed her to actually be hearing him say all this.

He feigned exasperation as he said, "And you insisted on going every night.

"I didn't want to stop talking to you, just so you know." She held his gaze as he said, "James has got issues with --" he struggled.

"Me," she supplied.

"No, well, kinda. With me and you."

"Huh?"

Sirius looked thrown off be her expression. "Us," he said simply as if that was enough explanation. The way he said the word shot tingles up her spine.

"Us." She tested the word on her tongue.

"Yeah. I don't think he has a real problem with you, as a person. It's just us as a unit."

Aly nodded slowly, but she still didn't understand. When had they ever been a unit?

"You still looked confused."

"I just never realized that we were an 'us,'" she explained bashfully.

He smiled. "They know we were an 'us' or that that was what I wanted, anyways."

Aly's heart stopped for a second. He said this all so calmly. "James thought you were leading me on," he continued, "Playing with my heart, sort to speak."

"I never--" she whispered in a rush, trying to move up again, outraged. He stopped her and held her in place. "I know that. I tried to explain to him that you had nothing to do with how I feel. He figured that that's why I've been messing around with all these other girls. Because you were leading me on and not following through. I've tried to explain that there was something much more than hooking up with you that kept me coming back, kept me around."

He smiled a weak smile as told her, "We have a special connection, Aly. But besides that, if I were to ever have a girlfriend, I would want it to be someone just like you, or, well, you. But, I'm not boyfriend material. James is just protective and couldn't get why we were still together, in proximity, if we weren't hooking up or forming a relationship. Plus, spending time with you and Lils made me respect women more and kept me from more … promiscuous escapades. So he thought for a while, we were actually together."

Aly felt moved enough by this statement to not correct his use of Lily's nickname on Lily's behalf.

"Aly, I can't be your boyfriend," he told her. "Even if you wanted me to be, but I want to be your friend." His eyes were bright with sincerity. His voice thickened, "I need to be friends with you. You get me and everything I deal with. I need that cause I have nothing else like that in my life."

"Neither do I," Aly said, understanding this need for their connection. "We can be friends," she said simply, "But you need to make sure that James knows that we aren't together in any non-platonic way and that I'm not interested in changing that fact."

He beamed.

"How's your head?" he changed the subject easily.

"Fine," she said and rolled back onto her back.

"What'd you see?" he asked cautiously.

"Green lights again."

He nodded, but said nothing more. She smiled, just happy to bask in the glow of their friendship. She must've dozed off and been carried up to her bed because her dreams consisted of Sirius' arms wrapped around her.

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Review.

Please and Thank you.


	23. Hogsmeade

Disclaimer: If you know it, I don't own it.

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Aly showered the next morning and felt relieved. With the purple paste washed away, she looked completely normal. She felt like she was walking on air as she skimmed through her day. Dinner brought a pleasant surprise as all of the Marauders took seats next to her and Lily. Sirius sat next to Lily as Remus sat down next to her. James sat and sent an unsure glance at Aly. He still looked skeptical of her.

The conversation was light as they ate. Remus told Aly, "It's good to see that you're back to your old self."

Aly smiled at him. "Thanks to your dad."

Remus sent her a sly smile.

"You look a lot like him," she informed him.

"Yeah, except for the my gray," he motioned to his hair.

"Eh." Aly shrugged. "I think it makes you look distinguished."

Remus let out a loud, open laugh, and said, "Thanks, Als."

Aly beamed at him, finding it quite comforting to hear her nickname come out of his mouth.

The evening went just as smooth. Aly went to bed happy, but with a feeling of dread dwelling in her chest.

As it always seems to go, when everything seems perfect, something bad is bound to happen.

For all the third years and up, the next day was a much anticipated Hogsmeade visit. Aly dressed in jeans and a t-shirt and made her way to breakfast.

"Wanna go with?" Sirius asked at breakfast.

"Sure," Lily said, surprising everyone since the question was really addressed to Aly.

"Good," he said, pulling himself together quickly.

They made their way to Hogsmeade where Melanie and Mary decided to join them. Mary managed to weasel her way up next to Sirius and took his arm.

Fawkes found them near the middle of the town. Melanie and Mary let out gasps of amazement, never really seeing the bird up close before. He landed on Aly's outstretched arm as she looked at him puzzled. He held out his leg and Aly took the bag hanging from it. Sirius seemed to remember the bird's aggression towards him the last time he had seen him and moved ever so slightly behind Mary. Fawkes nipped at Aly's ear affectionately and flew away.

"What is it?" Lily asked, trying to help Aly open the small pouch.

"Money," Aly said, glancing at it. "Must be from my dad."

"That's nice," Lily said.

James bounced on the balls of his feet impatiently. "Ok, see ya," he announced before wandering off. Peter followed him loyal, and Sirius shrugged before taking off as well. Melanie and Mary followed quickly, each taking a side next to Sirius.

Remus looked at them go and turned to the two girls, "Can I tag along with you?"

"Sure," Aly mumbled as she tried to count how much money was in the bag.

"Of course," Lily added with more enthusiasm, trying to make up for Aly's lack of it.

The three of them made their way through the Hogsmeade, Aly leading the way since she had grown up in the small wizard town. They went in all the novelty stores: the joke shop, the book store, the small wand shop. Inside the candy shop, Lily examined all the strange and new wizard candy. It was there that Aly finally asked Remus the question she had been holding in.

"Why'd you ditch your group?"

Remus was examining a jar of bloodpops as he said, "Those two girls annoy me. I didn't was to hear all about how funny or how cute Sirius is all day."

Aly laughed, knowing full well that that was exactly what the girls would be doing.

"Plus," he turned to look at her, "I'm trying to help you out with James."

Aly's face told of her surprise.

"Sirius told me that he explained everything to you. So I figured I'd do what I could to help clear up any misconceptions James may have about you."

Aly was touched.

After the hour they spent in the candy shop (Lily just couldn't seem to make up her mind on what to try), they decided to go get some butterbeer, which Aly had been promising to Lily, and found the rest of their group. They squeezed around the table, pulling up the three extra chairs. Mary pouted when Sirius pulled one between the two of them and Lily took it.

The laughter that filled the table stopped abruptly as Severus Snape suddenly appeared. James and Sirius stiffened, and to Aly's surprise, so did Lily.

"Are you going back to the castle soon?" He seemed to be asking Lily.

"Yes," Lily told him.

"After we're done with our drinks," Aly added looking at Lily's frozen face.

"Good," he said leaving without another word.

"That was weird," Aly mumbled.

"Yeah," Lily agreed, lowering her head. She sat silently, peeling the label off of her bottle the rest of the time they were there.

"Back to the castle then?" Remus asked the girls.

"Yep," Sirius answered for them, stretching.

"Us too," Mary and Melanie said simultaneously, which was followed by giggles. Aly saw James distinctly roll his eyes.

They started back towards the gates, but Lily's eye caught a beautiful quill in one of the shop windows. She and Aly slipped in as the boys waited outside. Lily was examining the quill closely when an angry voice came from behind them. Snape snarled, "What are you still doing here?" Lily turned, more upset than confused. "You need to go back to castle." The two girls looked at him and he let out a harsh, "Now."

They left, Lily dropping the quill on the floor. "What is going on, Lily?" Aly asked grabbing her arm.

"I don't know."

Suddenly, as they made it back to the group, there was a loud noise from the other end of the road. Something was on fire and smoke began to fill the street. Black cloaks appeared. They were chanting something in a low, ominous rumble. "Death to mudbloods," reached Aly's ears and terror filled Aly's chest. She heard Sirius mutter, "Oh crap." She turned quickly and instructed, "Take Lily back to the castle. Now."

James took hold of Lily's arm and went off without another word. Lily looked back over her shoulder as she fought to stay with the rest of the group. Remus' face was set just as hard as Sirius' was. "Remus," Aly told him, "You need to make sure those two get back safely." He hesitated for a moment, studying the cloaks as they sent spells at running passerby's feet. "You need to get the teachers," Aly told him.

He nodded, motioned to Peter, who stood absolutely terrified, whimpering. The two of them each took Melanie and Mary by the arm and were gone.

"What are we going to do?" Sirius asked.

Aly glanced at his face. It was ready for a fight. Hers set into the same expression as she pulled out her wand and replied, "Hold them off til the teacher get here."

"Excellent," he said pulling his out as well.

They stood ready. People were screaming and running, and Sirius and Aly ended up getting separated.

Aly shot a spell at one of the black cloaks who was standing over a third year Hufflepuff she didn't recognized. The cloaked figure fell back and the others turned, stiffened in surprise. Aly realized that they weren't there to hurt anyone. They just wanted to scare people.

There were spells suddenly shooting at her from all directions. She pointed her wand up in the air and a huge blue cast of light came down around her and formed a protective shield around her. All the spells sent her way simply bounced off. The shield took a lot of energy and a lot of focus on Aly's part and she felt her body draining each second. Spells kept coming her way and every time a spell hit the shield it vibrated through her body, and it took everything in her power to stay standing.

A strong spell hit her particularly hard, and Aly let out a small cry as the shield fell and she collapsed. A few spells hit her on the way down. Suddenly, someone was laying on top of her and she couldn't breath. She began to cry in giant empty gasps.

She was going to die. She knew it.

A shadow fell over her and she was gone.

…………….

Review, purty purty please!


	24. Almost conquest

Disclaimer: Not mine.

XxXxX

The sunlight streamed over her face as Aly woke. The sharp white linens told her she wasn't in her own bed. She went to sit up, but she found that her head was too heavy. Plus, her balance was off due to a heavy weight on her leg.

She turned her head to the side and saw Sirius beaming at her from the next bed over.

"What?" her voice was dry and cracked.

"Fun times, huh?" he asked, but added, "Thank God you finally woke up."

She closed her eyes again.

"Your dad's been frantic. Lily too."

"How is Lily?" Aly asked with urgency, eyes flying open.

"She's fine," Sirius assured her. "They got back to the castle without any problems."

"And you?"

"Fine and dandy," he said.

"Then why are you still here?" she wondered out loud.

"Well, I'm fine but slightly damaged."

She let out a deep sigh from her nose and closed her eyes.

"No one died," Sirius told her a softer tone. "Only two shops were damaged and neither was serious."

"That's good," she mumbled, tightening her eyelids.

"You got the worse of the battle wounds."

She said nothing in reply.

Suddenly, Sirius was next to her on the bed. "You almost lied to me." His voice was thick with pain.

She opened her eyes. He looked pained and not from the "damage" done to him.

"You almost left me."

"I never promised not to leave you," Aly informed him.

He was silent for but a moment, and then in a hushed tone pleaded, "Promise me now."

She looked at him for a moment before she whispered, "Are you sure you don't want a relationship with me?"

He pursed his lips together and Aly continued, "Cause we keep going down this road..."

"Yes. Yes, I do." Aly turned her head, as quickly as it would allow, to look at him. "But, I can't do it." He lowered his gaze in embarrassment.

"Why not?"

He turned tortured eyes upon her, "I can't do it. I'm not a good person."

Aly opened her mouth to argue, but he stopped her, "I'm not a good guy. I would never be faithful. I have wandering eyes. I see a conquest and I take it. I can't lose our friendship just because you're another conquest on my list. I won't do it."

Aly nodded, feeling dirtied by being called a conquest. She always thought there was more to Sirius than that.

"And what if I want to be a conquest," Aly asked, trying to measure his response.

His intake of breathe told her that this was not what he wanted to hear or at least not at the present moment.

She sat up, her head not as heavy now that sleep had worn off. She reached out and gently touched his face. She wasn't sure why she was doing it, she didn't really want to be a conquest, but she couldn't stop. She ran her fingers down his cheek and at his chin turned his face towards her.

The next thing she felt was his hands on the side of her head and his lips on hers. He was moving urgently, but Aly wasn't about to complain. The feeling running through her was exhilarating. He climbed up on the bed, straddling one of her legs. His lips left hers and found her neck. Aly let him take control mostly because she didn't really know what to do. All she knew was that she didn't want him to stop.

His hands wound up into her hair and she threw her head back. He placed gentle pecks of kisses along her collarbone, and Aly was surprised by his sudden tenderness. Her breathe left her body and, before she catch it, his mouth was back on hers. She moved her hands to grab the bottom of his shirt and tugged it up, feeling every bit as ready to be taken right there. They tangled up as he pushed her back against the pillows.

Suddenly, the hospital door opened with a creak and Sirius feel off of the bed. Aly tried to straighten herself out, pushing down her hair, as her father and the nurse entered. Sirius jumped up, shoving his shirt back into his waistband.

"Hello, Mr. Black," Dumbledore greeted him genially. "Are you alright? You look flushed."

He merely nodded, and said, "I think I'm ready to go back to the tower now."

The nurse rushed up to him and began to inspect him.

Dumbledore turned a happy face upon his daughter who was still disheveled and flustered. "Alyson, you're finally awake."

She merely sent him what she hoped appeared to be a smile. Sirius was cleared and rushed past the two of them out the door.

"Mr. Black," Dumbledore stopped him.

He halted, his shoes squeaking on the tile floor.

"I never thanked you for staying on top of Aly."

Sirius nodded to show he heard and left with a slight reddening of his ears. Obviously, the headmaster hadn't realized that Sirius was literally on top of her just minutes before.

He turned back to Aly, "What is wrong with him?"

"He said he hadn't slept much," Aly lied.

"How are you?" Dumbledore asked.

"Fine. Can _I _go to the tower?" Aly asked quickly.

He eyed her with apprehension. "We'll see."

Aly sighed and fiddled with the blanket on her bed. Her mind was filled with so many questions. What had just happened? What had taken over her? What would've happened if they hadn't been interrupted? What had been running through Sirius' mind? And the one that bothered her the most, what was he thinking now?


	25. Logan

Disclaimer: JK's. Not mine. :(

XxXxX

"The Incident," as Aly came to mentally recall that day, was never brought up. There was never a hint from Sirius that it had ever happened. They went back to the friendship they had been trying to build and lived amicably. However, it never escaped Aly's notice that they never made any sort of physical contact. She never shared with Lily what had happened and could only assume the Sirius had done the same with his friends.

The cloaked individuals were never caught, but Aly had a vague suspicion of who was involved since Snape seemed to be in on it.

Classes soon came to an end, and it was decided that Aly would remain at Hogwarts for the summer. She was unhappy about it, but her father was right. There was going to be enough going on at the Evans' house without an extra witch (plus the probable visits of 3 or 4 rambunctious wizards).

Aly watched sadly as everyone cleared out of the Gryffindor tower. The Marauders were the last to make their way out along with a few other stragglers. Remus and Sirius had stopped by the couch that Aly sat perched on.

"You're not leaving?" Sirius asked.

"No," Aly replied flatly.

His face twisted into a sour look as Remus frowned but wished her a good summer. Sirius grabbed her ponytail and gently pulled it before following him. The simple gesture made Aly smile weakly.

Sirius had gone back to his "womanizing" ways. Aly ignored this fact and tried to focus on the Sirius she knew. She forced the envy she felt when she heard new stories of the girls he hooked up with out of her mind, but still felt it squeeze at her heart.

After much deliberation (not to mention many, many arguments),Dumbledore finally agreed to let Aly stay in her school room for the summer. When McGonagall had pointed out to him that there was more than enough pictures, ghosts, and teachers to keep a close eye on her in the castle, he finally caved.

Aly filled her days with wondered around the castle, reading many books from the library (averaging about a book today), and spending most of her evenings with Hagrid. He even allowed her to take Fang with her some nights just so she had someone with her. Fawkes moved into the round bedroom as well. He followed her around whenever Dumbledore wasn't in his office.

In July, Aly's life took a sudden turn. There was a committee of Ministry officials who were designated to inspect the safety spells and charms on the castle. Since there were so many nocks and crannies to the vast building, they took to residing in the Hufflepuff house. One ministry official was raising his son by himself and had been granted permission to bring him with him.

Aly accidently stumbled into him one afternoon. He was tall and blonde. He smiled at her as she found him.

"Hi," he said.

She was taken aback by his beauty. He wasn't nearly as good looking as Sirius, but his aura that glowed around him made up for that.

"Hey," she replied automatically.

"You're Dumbledore's daughter."

"Aly," she corrected and his smile widened.

"Well, hello, Aly. I'm Logan." He held out his hand and she shook it.

"Do you go here? I mean you must, but I've never seen you before."

The smile never left his face as he said, "You don't really spend a lot of time with the Hufflepuff crowd."

She nodded in agreement as she said, "True."

"I'm a sixth year now," he informed her.

"I'm a fourth year."

"4th year? Really?" He looked shocked.

"Yeah, but my birthday is in October so I'll be 15."

His smile returned. "I thought you looked too mature to only be about 14."

Aly shifted, slightly uncomfortable, as he eyed her up and down. She blushed deeply, which rarely happened. She knew she looked different; she just wasn't expecting for anyone else to notice, especially a boy. She had lost her baby, from her face and throughout the rest of her body. She was now tall, lean, and had developed her breasts. She had watched with envy as Lily's had grown in gradually, but hers remained nonexistent. She had resigned to the fact that they just weren't going to appear. Until the past month anyways.

He continued on without any mention of the glowing red in her cheeks. "You know your way around this place pretty well, huh?"

"Yeah," she mumbled, her face still warm.

"I still only know my way to the food and the quidditch," he told her with a laugh.

Aly perked up. "You play quidditch?"

"Yeah, I'm the seeker." He looked at her slyly, "I've played you before. You're that mean beater who always manages to take me out. I have yet to win against you and your Gryffindors." He winked with playfulness.

She smiled back and asked, "You got your broom with you?"

His eyes widened with excitement and he disappeared.

They spent the rest of the day in the air. They talked as they flew around.

This became their routine. Aly was happy to have someone to talk to and he wasn't bad on the eyes either.

After two weeks of wondering the castle, checking every room, the committee found a glitch in their task. One room had stubbornly locked itself up and refused to open.

Aly was ecstatic. That meant that Logan was going to get to stay with her longer. He become almost like a male Lily to her. He listened to her and seemed to expect nothing in return, which was rare among the people Aly had met in her lifetime. She never allowed herself to become to close to him though. In the back of her mind, she kept reminding herself that once school started there was a good chance that he'd disappear. They kept a comfortable distance from one another at all times. It was never like the stifled distance Aly kept with Sirius.

Unfortunately, for Aly, the ministry finished their work by early August. They had decided that Dumbledore would just have to watch for the door to open and let them know.

Aly sat miserable in the empty Gryffindor common room. She felt like part of her world was crumbling. She was going to be alone again, and there was a good chance that she'd never see Logan again.

She didn't move as she heard to portrait door open, assuming that it was her father trying to convince her to come eat dinner with him. However, she jumped as soon as she saw that it was Logan who entered. It felt weird to her to have him enter her sacred territory. He had never been in the Gryffindor tower, even with as much time as they spent together.

"How'd you get in?" she asked quickly.

The smile he had on his face slipped into a straight line. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to intrude. I just wanted to say 'goodbye.'"

"Oh," Aly felt bad for snapping at him. "Sorry. You just surprised me."

"No, I'm sorry. I just remembered the password you used last night and let myself in."

"What if I was indecent?" Aly scolded, putting her hands on her hips.

"You walk around your common room indecent?" His smiled returned, but it held a flash of wickedness behind it.

Aly blushed, "No, but I could." She smiled at him and he held her gaze for a minute.

He finally told her, "I'm gonna miss you, Aly."

"Me too," Aly's voice was thick with the weight of the loneliness that was again encroaching upon her.

He came over and put his hands on her shoulders, and hesitated before giving her a quick peck on the cheek. "See you around."

Aly fell back onto the couch once he as gone. She closed her eyes an let misery take her over.

XxXxX

If you like this story, please review. It would be nice to know if anyone's actually reading this. Thanks.


	26. Logan and Lily

Disclaimer: Even if I were to dress up as JK Rowling for Halloween, I still wouldn't own any of this.

XxXxX

Aly made her way down to the Great Hall for dinner. Normally, she went directly to the kitchen and ate whatever sweets appealed to her. Tonight, however, her father had directly requested that she join him in the Hall. It had been a week since Logan left and she had hardly left the Gryffindor tower.

Aly was surprised to see Prof McGonagall, Prof Sprout, and Hagrid sitting a small table in the middle of the Hall as she entered it. Her father came forward and greeted her with an awkward hug and a "Good evening, Alyson."

"Hi," she responded roughly, tugging on the bottom of her cut-off shorts. She wished she had known she would be dining with others so that she could've put more time and energy into what she was wearing. She pulled her ponytail holder out of her hair hoping that her natural curls, that always fell perfectly, would make up for the torn shorts and tank top.

All the adults smiled at her as she took her seat. All the food laid out before them was muggle food. There was pizza still in its box, tacos still wrapped in their paper, and french fries from just about every fast food chain.

"I collaborated with Lily to get these for you," Dumbledore said proudly.

Aly merely nodded.

"Let us eat!" he announced and the other three looked cautiously at the foreign food.

Aly was picking at the pepperoni on her pizza when her father asked, "Why aren't you eating?"

"I'm not really hungry," she mumbled, and it wasn't a lie. She had been living mostly off pastries in the kitchen and the Skittles Lily kept her supplied with.

Dumbledore let out an impatient sigh, but McGonagall was the one to speak, "Enough is enough!" She continued, apparently having snapped, "For weeks now, we've watched you moping around."

"Minerva," Dumbledore tried to calm her.

She continued anyways. "No. Look here, I am not your mother, but I feel the need to tell you, he's just a boy! You need to move on."

Aly was shocked. "Eeeeii, ii, I---" When she found her tongue she snapped, "I am NOT moping around because of a boy." She crossed her arms like an irritated child.

"Yes you have been," McGonagall shot back, "Since that boy left, you just wonder aimlessly around the castle."

That was only partially true. She had been wondering around, but not aimlessly. She had wanted to see the castle and learn everything she could about it. She could usually be found in random hallways, book in hand, a look of determination on her face.

Aly didn't say anything and McGonagall began to mumble so fast and angrily that Aly only caught part of what she was saying, "...this over a Black...stand to do better...every girl and her mother...catch his eye...the things they have done...to be mixed up…"

Aly finally cut her off, getting the gist of what she was saying, "You think this about Sirius?"

All eyes turned towards her. "I am not moping around because of him. Frankly, I'm glad to have a break from him." That was true. "If it looks like I'm moping, it's because I'm here and not with Lily." Again true. "I would never mope around because of a boy." Ok, not true.

Her father seemed please. McGonagall looked happy as well. "Good," she said, "There are much better families to associate yourself with than that riff raff anyways."

"With all due respect, Professor," Aly said through gritted teeth, "You don't have any right to judge Sirius based on his family."

Hagrid chimed in, "Sirius is good people. Not at all like tha' family of his."

Aly continued, "And if I wanted to mope over him, I would have every right to do so." She stood up and announced, "I think I'll go to bed, now."

"It's only 6:30," her father told her, trying to get her to stay.

"I know," Aly said, stingers still attached to every word, "But I haven't been sleeping well and now I have a headache." With that she left, noting that angry look on McGonagall's face and the worry on her father's.

XxXxX

The rest of the summer passed quietly. Aly kept to the Gryffindor tower and went against her normal stance on the process and asked to have her meals brought to her there.

She got her books for the new school year and had them read by week's end. August 31 was a day spent gathering her things and preparing the tower for the return of her fellow Gryffindors.

On September 1, she had planned on meeting Lily at the train station, but her father had conveniently stopped her to ask her her opinion on his robes. He held her up long enough that Aly had to settle on waiting near the Great Hall for Lily to find her. She took a seat on the bottom most step of the Grand Staircase and waited.

Lily's red hair came into view and she flew towards Aly. They hugged and jumped up and down, squealing. "I've missed you," Aly told her.

"Me too!" Lily promised loudly.

They found their way towards their table. Lily was talking frantically, as if she worried that Aly would disappear before she could finish. "My mom is doing great. She refused to stay off her feet though. So my dad chased her around the house whenever he was home. Petunia was completely unbearable. She's got this boyfriend so she took to talking about him 24/7. Apparently, he's the greatest thing ever. Psssh. So I got a part time job to get away from her. At Dairy Queen, actually. And yes, I had to wear a hat."

As Lily rambled on, Aly's eyes took to watching the Hufflepuff table. Finally, as Lily's topic changed to the movie's she saw and the tv shows she watched, Aly spotted him. He must've spent a lot more time out in the sun because his skin was bronzer. He had gotten a hair cut, probably for the new school year.

He turned and Aly watched him scan the table she sat at. She held her breathe in anticipation as his eyes moved towards her. The smile on his face widened as their eyes met. So did Aly's. He mouthed something to her, but she had to shrug to let him know that she hadn't been able to understand what he said. He waved his hand to dismiss it and, with a wink, turned back to the friend he was with.

Aly didn't hear anything else Lily told her as she sat happily. The feast started and ended without much of Aly's notice. Lily, luckily, had enough to talk about that Aly merely had to nod at the right moment.

As they entered the common room, Aly saw all of the students wondering around and she felt so much better. She nearly squealed as Remus came up to them.

"Hey!" he said cheerfully.

"Welcome back!" Aly said hugging him tightly.

As Remus tried to regain himself, James sprung up next to him, "Hey!" he said overly cheerful. He ran his fingers through his hair trying to mess it up more than it naturally fell. "How was your summer?" he asked Lily.

"Fine," she said coldly, "You didn't show up." She pushed past him.

"Go out with me?" he called after her.

"Subtle, dude," Sirius told him, suddenly appearing.

"How was your summer?" Sirius asked Aly.

"Long," she said simply, not looking at him, afraid of the feelings that might resurface. "I'm going to bed. Good to see you all back." She smiled and squeezed Remus' elbow before going.

Lily was more calm that Aly expect when she got up to their room.

"Potter is such an idiot," she mumbled.

"Yep," Aly agreed, but her mind was really off somewhere else. She was wondering if she'd see Logan tomorrow. She certainly hoped so.

XxXxX

Breakfast held no sign of Logan, but as Aly started up the stairs, towards Transfiguration, someone grabbed her arm. Sure enough, he had found her.

Her heart jumped as he asked, "Can I talk to you a minute?"

"Sure," she said breathless. "Go ahead," she told Lily, who was studying Logan closely.

He pulled her down and around the stairs into the shadows. Aly's face showed the confusion she felt.

"What?" he asked.

"Why are we hiding?" she asked.

He smiled and told her, "Not hiding. I just need to tell you something rather personal and private."

"Oh," her eyebrows went up. "Go on."

He took her hand and proceeded to talk to it. "I've missed you."

"I've missed you too."

"Good," he said roughly. He hesitated before blurting out, "More than I'd like to admit. It's been driving me crazy." He paused again, and Aly leaned forward as a way of telling him to continue. When he finally spoke again, he informed her, "I've never been very good at this, so--" and with that he kissed her.

Aly was surprised and instinctively stiffened. He pulled away quickly.

"I'm sorry," he said in a rush, "I just---"

"Why'd you stop?" Aly asked in disappointment.

"You weren't kissing back." He was obviously not used to this. "I'm sorry. I'm not good at this at all. I'm used to the girls doing all this." His eyes went wide as he added quickly, "Not that there's been a lot of girls. Just two. Only two."

Aly laughed and asked, "You like me?"

"Yeah," he hung his head as he said this.

"Good," she said, "Cause I like you."

His smile returned, and she leaned in and kissed him gently. "I'll see you at lunch," she told him and went to leave. He stopped her though.

"I've never done this. Out of house dating, I mean. What table do we eat at?"

Aly smiled at his look of concern. "I'll sit with you. And I'll bring Lily. Less noticeable if it's the both of us."

His smile returned and she said a quick, "See ya," before going up the stairs in what she hoped was a collected manner. As soon as she reached the top, however, she broke into a run.

She slide into her seat just minutes later. "10 points, Miss Dumbledore," McGonagall said without turning from the board.

Aly quickly caught up on notes, noticing Lily send glances at her occasionally. She ignored her but felt her cheeks spread even further.

McGonagall finally finished her instructions for the days lessons and turned to address the class. She paused for but a second on Aly's face, and Aly saw her eyes narrow and dart to Sirius. Aly's smile faded and she tried to keep her anger down.

So this is how it was going to be. Here she was all a twitter over a boy and everyone around her was going to hold on to this prejudice against the boy she _used_ to get twittery about, who now she was just friends with. She'd have to fix that and quick. Sirius didn't deserve any more ill will directed towards him. His family was doing a good enough job creating that for themselves.

Aly got through class before really talking to Lily. "Will you eat lunch with me?"

"Of course?" a shocked Lily replied.

"I mean at the Hufflepuff table."

Lily stopped in her tracks, and Aly turned to face her.

"Why?" Lily asked with narrowed eyes.

"Logan wants us to sit with him." She added the "us" hoping to help her case.

"Is he that boy?"

"Lily," Aly didn't feel like hearing this, from Lily of all people. "I like him."

"You do?" her whole demeanor changed.

"Yeah," Aly managed to say before Peeves appeared above them.

"Late for class! Late for class!" he sang at the top of his lungs as he threw chalk bits at them.

They ran out to the greenhouses arriving out of breathe and late.

"10 points each," Professor Sprout told them.

"Wow, you're on a role," Sirius whispered to Aly as she walked past.

"When you're good, you're good," she laughed. Her laughter came to a stuttering stop as she froze in complete shock.

The plants, her plants, were sitting on all of the tables everyone stood suited up around. She found only one open spot, across from Remus, and eyed the professor suspiciously. She remembered the cuts of these plants only too well. What was Sprout doing having them mess with these things?

The class was instructed to simply add more dirt and fertilizer to the plants that had just been replanted and then to water them.

"That's it?" James asked after they were instructed to begin.

Remus shrugged and started on his plant.

James continued to whine, "Why are we all suited up?"

"Protection," Aly said adding dirt to hers.

"From what?" he snapped poking his unseen plants dirt.

"Don't--" Aly started, but James glared at her. "Fine. Stick your head in the pot for all I care."

Sirius cut James off before he could respond. "Dude, just do your work."

He frowned, but James did as told.

Aly finished quickly, and she helped Lily with her plant which kept wiggling out of it's dirt.

They cleaned up and made their way to lunch. Aly felt butterflies fill her stomach. They went crazy when she saw Logan stand up as she entered the hall. Lily stood close, protectively close. Logan motioned for her to take the seat across from her. When they sat, Lily sat so close to Aly that Aly had to elbow her over.

"Hey," Logan greeted her with his usual smile.

"Hey," Aly said sounding breathless. She cleared her throat to try and fix her voice.

Lily sat glowering at Logan. "This is my friend, Amos," Logan said introducing the boy next to him. He was shorter then Logan and had mousy brown hair and glasses. Amos smiled at Lily, who either didn't see him or choose to ignore him. Logan sent Lily a worried glance and leaned in to whisper to Aly, "Is she okay?"

"No," Aly said with a small laugh.

Logan smiled and leaned back to eat. Aly thoroughly enjoyed lunch with Logan and Amos. They all discussed Quidditch (Amos was an enthusiast but was too much of a klutz to play) and the ministry.

Aly couldn't help but notice that many of the Hufflepuffs, boys and girls alike, kept sending her and Lily dirty looks. A few girls were even bold enough to come up and lean over Logan's shoulder to borrow their butter or steal their salt and pepper. One girl just leaned into him to say "hi." Logan was very polite to each of them but didn't seem to notice the attention given to him. He kept himself focused on Aly. He seemed to be watching her every move, but Aly didn't feel the least bit self conscious. It was a comfortable feeling to have someone watching her.

Logan and Amos walked her and Lily, who didn't eat much and who was still glaring at Logan, to the foot of the main stairs.

"I'll see you around?" Logan asked hopefully.

Aly nodded, not able to find her tongue.

"Dinner," Lily said, speaking for the first time since lunch began. All three looked at her in surprise. "Gryffindor table."

With that she started up the stairs without a look back. Aly shrugged at Logan's unasked question and asked meekly, "See you then?"

Logan hadn't regained himself completely, but replied, "Yeah."

Aly took off after Lily. "What is your problem?!"

Lily seemed to ignore Aly's tone and asked innocently, "What do you mean?"

Aly let out a loud huff, but didn't press any further. They were on their way to double Potions with the Slytherins, and she knew there'd be trouble. There always was. She needed all of her focus.

Sure enough, they walked in on a situation. James stood at the ready, wand pointed at Snape. Snape's wand was pointed right back at him. Remus was buried in a book sitting next to Peter who was beaming, looking too overexcited.

Lily let out a heavy sigh, stopping in the doorway. The tension in the room was thick. Snape refused to take his eyes off of James, and vice versa. The tension hit a high point and James and Snape yelled out their spells, but they both went off in different directions, neither hitting their target.

They had both taken their focus off one another as Sirius came charging into the room, knocking Lily, who still stood in the doorway, to the floor. Snape and James both looked on concerned. Sirius pulled Lily up off of the her hands and knees.

"Are you okay?" he asked holding her up.

"Yeah," she said gruffly, shrugging his hands off of her.

"I'm really sorry," he said as she walked away.

She took her seat and Aly whispered, "She's lost her mind today," to Sirius as he looked after Lily, eyes filled with hurt.

Slughorn made class drag on longer than possible, and Aly was terrified that Logan wouldn't wait for them. He commented about Lily's lack of usual enthusiasm, and again a shrug was all Aly had to provide as an explanation.

She broke into a grin as she saw Logan waiting for them at dinner. Just the sight of him made everything that happened in the cold dungeon beforehand slip away. She greeted him and, as they made their way into the hall, Lily was somehow right behind them.

This is gonna get old, Aly thought.

XxXxX

please please please review. with a cheery on top. and sprinkles. =]


	27. Logan and Sirius

Disclaimer: Nada.

XxXxX

Aly sighed exasperated. She sat in the common room feeling exhausted. Trying to keep Lily at bay and keep Logan from going crazy, which he hadn't shown any signs of doing but Aly wanted to keep it that way, was turning out to be a full time job.

Earlier that day, at lunch, Logan had taken what Aly saw as a very big step and came over to eat with her without being asked. They had been trying to keep the whole relationship undercover as much as possible so they ate together maybe one meal a day. Sure enough, Lily did everything in her power to ruin the meal.

Before Logan had even began to eat, Lily called out, "Hey! Hey, James! Come sit with us!" She had stood up to wave him over. He looked just as shocked as Aly. The Marauders took the seats next them, all of them looking oddly at Lily. The only non-confused eyes belonged to Aly. She was glaring at Lily.

Why was she doing this to her?

The boys were introduced to one another, and Logan acknowledged each boy with a nod of his head, hesitating ever so slightly at Sirius. Aly was the only who noticed. He turned to Aly and continued their previously started conversation on the current Minister of Magic. The four boys studied him, undecidedly. Even Remus looked at him strange. Aly tried to ignore the fact that this bothered her.

She ate lunch without paying too much attention to the four boys. Lily, however, was not so lucky. Aly took to sending her death glares every few minutes. Logan didn't seem to mind the intrusion and focused on Aly and tried to make polite chat with Lily (she chose to ignore him). Aly tried her best to pay attention to him, but she couldn't get over the swell of anger in her chest.

Aly was the first to stand to leave, ready to make her escape.

"Can you hang on a second?" Logan asked her in the front hall.

"Sure," Aly snapped a little too harshly. The five others slowly made their way past. Only Lily looked back as she instructed, "We have homework. You best do it tonight."

Aly rolled her eyes in annoyance but was interrupted as Logan pulled her out the giant front doors. They didn't go far. Stopping at the bottom step, Logan released her and asked her to sit. She looking up at him with huge eyes.

"Aly," he started. His voice was heavy with some emotion Aly couldn't place. Was it regret? That would make sense. Maybe he did regret getting tied up with a 4th year and her immature and nosy friends. He had paused for a second, looking away. He turned back and said, "You have really blue eyes."

Aly felt shock ripple through her. "Uh, thanks?"

Much to he surprise, he laughed. "It's a compliment, Aly. You're not suppose to question it."

She felt silly after his comment and lowered her head.

He sighed as he studied her. "Aly, I like you.

She peered up at him.

"But your friends don't seem friends don't seem happy with that."

Aly frowned deeply.

"I'm not sure if this worth a rift between you and your friends."

"I don't care what they think---" she started.

"Yes you do," he told her.

Aly heaved a sigh. "Can I show you how much I don't care? How much I want to be with you?" She hoped what she said didn't come off too melodramatic.

"Of course," he said. His smile returning to his face.

She beamed at him, sure that what she had to show him would prove her loyalty to him. She pulled him towards the forest. He hesitated as she pulled him in, and she told him, "It's okay. I promise."

He allowed himself to be pulled in, but his shoulders still didn't relax. Aly stopped in a small clearing. "Tada," she announced releasing him.

He looked around the ring of trees. Aly expected him to be astonished, excited, or at least impressed. So when he just stood still scanning the area, she felt slightly let down.

"What am I suppose to be seeing?" he asked.

"It's a moon stone," Aly said simply.

"You mean that big rock? That's what I'm suppose to be looking at? A rock?" He didn't get it.

"It's not just a rock. See it's a moon rock. My mom---"

He cut her off. "Aly, we can't avoid talking about this."

Aly looked at him, hurt. She was sharing something very special with him. She moved past this sadness and said, "My friends will get over it. I promise."

Logan looked skeptical.

"Trust me," she insisted.

When he didn't look convinced, Aly took matters into her own hands. She took a hold of his face and kissed him. He was slightly put off, never having her do something as drastic before, but before she knew it he was kissing her back.

She had skipped the rest of her classes, and she now sat on the couch in the common room. She was trying to enjoy the quiet while she could because, just as expected, Lily came storming in the common room not long after their last class got out, on a mission. "Where have you been?" she screeched.

The common room began to buzz as more people came in behind Lily. "I said, 'where have you been?'"

"Around."

"Alyson Patricia,"

Aly jumped up, "Don't you dare full name me, Lily Evans!"

"I will if you deserve it."

With that remark, Aly stormed out of tower into the hallway. Lily followed her.

"Lily! Give it a rest!" Aly yelled. People were standing around them trying to get into the tower. Aly didn't care; they could wait. "What is your problem with Logan?"

"He's a sixth year!" Lily exclaimed as if it was obvious.

"So?"

Lily rolled her eyes, "He's only after one thing!"

"Like I'm not use to that," Aly spat. With that comment, Lily's face fell into a frown and someone around them shuffled.

"What does that mean?" Lily asked, her brow furrowed.

"It means," Aly said with a sigh, moving away from having to explain herself, "That Logan is my boyfriend. End of story. So, get over whatever your problem with him is."

Lily merely stood looking at her.

Suddenly, James' voice jumped out of the crowd, "Can you two either take of your clothes and wrestle or move outta the way?"

Aly sent a glare at him and turned on her heel and stormed off. She heard Lily and James begin to argue and picked up her pace.

As she turned the corner, she found the one person she had prayed wasn't with James as he and the other Marauder's eavesdropped on her and Lily. Sirius stood in a dark corner, looking slightly shrunken.

"Hey," Aly said breathlessly.

"Hey," he said not looking at her.

For a moment, neither said anything. Aly ventured in a small voice, "Did you hear everything?"

She saw a slight nod come from him. She stood watching him, not sure what to say to him.

She watched the struggle move across his face. He gulped, took a deep breathe, and stood all the way up. He was much taller than Aly remembered, taller than Logan, even.

He smiled at her, his face wiped smooth. "You going to the library?"

She nodded, studying him.

"I'll walk you." They started off together.

"So--" Sirius ventured after they had made it pass Peeves, who was dangling a first year in the air.

"I didn't mean for you to find out that way," Aly said simply and quickly.

"I know," he told her. "I tried to not listen."

They fell silent again until Sirius asked, "He good to you?"

Aly smiled meekly, "Yeah."

"Alright, then."

Aly looked at him. He seemed to have accepted this.

"You okay?" Aly asked as they reached the library.

"Yeah," Sirius said sincerely. "As long as he treats you right."

Aly smiled at Sirius, a real smile.

"Thanks for walking me."

He smiled a small smile and said, "It's no prob."

She went up on her tippie-toes and pecked him gently on the cheek.

"What's that for?"

She shrugged, "You're always lookin' out for me."

"Always," he said with a wink and a typical Sirius smirk.

Aly left him standing in the hallway and entered the library. Much to her shock, Logan sat at a table facing the open door. He face scrunched up in anger.

Aly's insides froze with fear. "Logan," she said going up to him.

He couldn't seem to find words as he stood up, fist clenched.

"It wasn't a big deal," Aly told him.

"You. **Kissed**. _Him_."

"Yes but not in anything but a friendly way. He's my friend," Aly explained.

Logan snorted. His lower lip rolled into his mouth, and he bit down on it.

He stared at Aly unseeing. "I don't want you hanging around him anymore. He's bad news."

It was Aly's turn to snort. "I will hang out with who I want to. Plus, he's not 'bad news.' Sirius is a good person."

Logan stood. His lip still missing from his face. "You will stay away from him."

"No."

Before she saw what was coming, he had grabbed her by the shoulders. She wrenched herself out of his grasp and ran towards the door.

He caught up with her and, after roughly grabbing her by the elbow, gently took hold of her hand. "Aly, I'm so sorry."

His lip was back and his eyes were wide. "I really am. I don't know what came over me. I just, I worry about you."

He looked sincere so Aly said quietly, "Alright."

"Let me walk you back to the library," he pleaded.

"No," she said but upon seeing his face, smiled meekly and told him, "I'm just going to go study with Lily. She's struggling with her Trans homework."

He smiled at her. "We okay?"

"Yeah," she said without much enthusiasm. Her mind spinning.

"Good." He kissed her on the cheek and left her to stand there alone. She collected herself and headed back towards the tower. Upon reaching the portrait, she realized that she didn't want to see anybody.

She wandered around for a while, thinking. This wasn't like Logan. He wasn't normally like this. He liked her and treated her great, except for this one time. Should she judge him based on that one exception? No. That wouldn't be fair. He wouldn't have done it if she hadn't been so stupid as to kiss Sirius. The whole thing was her fault, not his.

As she paced, she reached for her necklace. She always played with it when she was thinking. Her hand found nothing, though. She gasped, spinning around, and sprinting back to the library. Logan must've accidently broke the chain when he grabbed, no, took a hold of her. The chain was old. It was likely to break.

She found the library almost deserted. She scanned the floor, finding nothing.

"Accio necklace," she called out.

Nothing stirred.

She frowned, feeling like she was going to cry.

She made her way back to the common room, bypassing Lily and Sirius who both turned to look at her as she entered. She flopped down on her bed, feeling more tired than she had ever felt in her whole life.

XxXxX

more to come soon. review for me, please. =]


	28. 15th Birthday

Disclaimer: I own nothing

XxXxX

Aly's birthday rolled around without much commotion. Lily had given up her attempt to pull Aly away from Logan. Especially after one night when Aly had clung to her and cried. She never asked why exactly she was so upset, but she figured it had something to do with her not liking her boyfriend.

Sirius continued to be a playboy while James enjoyed even more heightened celebrity status due to their victory over Slytherin in the first Quidditch game of the year. Aly had to hand it to him, the boy could chase a snitch. There had been little contact between the two girls and the Marauders since the night she lost her necklace, and Aly was sure it due to protecting Sirius.

Aly knew Logan and her relationship went completely public when her dad asked her about it in the hallway one afternoon.

"I hear your dating the Trentecost boy," he had said.

"Yeah," Aly had answered cautiously.

He had merely smiled and nodded in what Aly assumed was approval.

For days after, this bothered her. She expressed this feeling to Lily who merely shook her head in response, but Aly was sure she had heard a snicker come from the Marauders table where only Sirius and Peter sat.

On the morning of her birthday, she sat down at the Gryffindor table to eat alone (normally dinner was the meal she shared with Logan), when she was caught be surprise by something large and heavy grazing across the top of her head.

"Oww!"

"Oh, I'm sorry," Logan said, sitting down next to her.

"What was that?" Aly asked as she rubbed her sore head.

"Your gift," he said presenting it to her.

She took it excitedly. After tearing it open, her face fell as quickly as it lit up.

"It's a book," she pointed out.

"Yeah!" he said beaming. "It's a quidditch book. Much more indef than "Quidditch through the Ages'."

Aly forced a smile. "Thanks, Logan."

"Your welcome," he said kissing her on the cheek and leaving.

She frowned at the book as she went back to eating.

XxXxX

She spent her birthday pretty much alone. She didn't see Lily or any of the Marauders at all. She ate dinner with the Hufflepuffs, but Logan didn't seem to notice a change in her mood. She climbed the stairs to her room, feeling like this ranked as one of her worst birthdays ever. As she pulled back the curtains around her bed, she found a single, white daisy sitting on her pillow.


	29. Blood splattered goodbyes

Disclaimer: All of this is mine. Hahaha. Not.

XxXxX

Halloween arrived and brought with it the cold. Aly hadn't seen any of the Marauders since before her birthday. She had hardly seen Lily either. When she confronted her about it, she couldn't control her crying. She hated being seen as weak, but it paid off because Lily started spending more time with her.

One day at dinner, Lily came over to eat with her and Logan.

"Hi," she said sitting down next to Amos. "I'm Lily."

"I know," he said. "We've met before."

"We have?" She blushed as she said, "Sorry."

They ate and for the first time ever, Aly saw Amos open up and chat about something other than the Ministry and Quidditch. Aly watched happily as the two chatted.

XxXxX

"Amos is really not that bad," Lily commented a few days later, standing outside of the portrait hole.

"I know," Aly said not paying a whole lot of attention to her.

"Hey!" James said to Lily, fluffing his hair up. The rest of the Marauder's were climbing through the portrait hole.

Lily let out a "Hmmph," and made her way the opposite direction.

Aly smiled at her and made a grab for Sirius. "Hey," she said holding onto him.

"Hey?" He was obviously confused.

"I never got to thank you," she explained.

His brow, which had wrinkled in his confusion, smoothed out and his eyes lit up, but he kept a smile from spreading across his face. Aly saw his lips twitch ever-so-slightly though as he asked innocently, "For what?"

"You know what for," she said swatting him playfully.

He merely smiled at her.

She heard some clear their throat and turned to see Lily waiting for her.

"See you 'round" she said taking off in a jog towards an impatient Lily who was tapping her toes.

XxXxX

"Hey," Logan said, looking surprised to see Aly sitting in his common room. "What are you doing here?" he asked as kissed her on the forehead.

She had been sitting in the Hufflepuff common room watching the humorous situation that was Lily and Amos talking. The two had been spending every day together since they had eaten dinner together, and they still hadn't gotten past the awkward stage.

Logan put his hand on her shoulder and asked, "Walk with me?"

"Sure, what's up?" she asked as she stood up slowly. She could tell by the look on his face that something was off.

"We'll discuss this outside," he mumbled, grabbing ahold of her arm.

She turned back to tell Lily that she as leaving, but Logan's hand tightened and pulled her along to the outside of the Hufflepuff house.

Once he let go of her arm, she snapped, "What is wrong with you?"

"Where were you yesterday?"

"You know where I was," Aly said, crossing her arms.

He merely stared her down, anger obvious on his face. Aly quickly scanned through her day mentally and suddenly realized what he talking about.

"Exactly," Logan announced. Aly cursed herself internally as she realized her face told him that she figured out what was wrong.

"God, Aly!" he exclaimed, slamming his fist into the nearest wall.

Aly jumped.

"Why do you keep doing this to me?" he pleaded.

Aly thought it was merely a hypothetical question and stood quietly, waiting for him to finish venting.

This was normal for the two of them. She messed up, he yelled, he vented, and then everything would be fine. So, she waited but that wasn't what he wanted.

He seemed to balloon with anger. He grabbed her by the elbows and twisted as he shook her. "Answer me," he demanded.

Aly merely looked at him.

"Ugh," he said letting her go. She flexed her arms to loosen them after his tight grasp.

"I'm sorry," she said without realizing that she really wasn't. "I won't do it again."

"Promise?" he asked, breathing heavy.

And before even stopping to think about it, she said, "Yes."

His smile returned. "Thanks, Aly." He kissed her on the cheek and went back into the common room.

She stood outside rubbing her elbows for a while trying to ease the pain that had nothing to do with Logan's grasp.

What had she done? She just promised to never talk to one of her favorite people on the planet ever again?_ But_ why was she worried about that? She was hurting a guy who wanted to be with her by spending time with a guy who wouldn't.

She went back to her own common room and collapsed on a couch. She laid there, unbothered, until Lily returned much later.

"Amos asked me to go to Hogsmeade with him!" she exclaimed happily.

Aly sat up and to look at her friend's excited face and forced a smile. Lily squealed with excitement and disappeared up the stairs.

Aly's fake smile fell as she saw that the Marauder's all sat starring back at her. James looking as if he was ready to vomit.

XxXxX

Logan promised to take Aly to Hogsmeade when the day arrived. He promised her a fun day. Aly didn't get to see that promise come completely true. He did take her, but the fun was cut short.

They were walking around when they unintentionally ran into the Marauders.

"Hey," Remus said coming forward out of the group.

Aly scanned them and asked, "Where's James?"

Remus nodded towards Lily and Amos, who were walking not far away, laughing with each other.

"Oh," Aly said, not really feeling all that bad for him.

Logan pulled on her arm, indicating for her to go. She smiled at Remus and said, "See ya!"

After stopping at the candy shop and having a butterbeer with Lily and Amos, Logan decided that he was ready to leave. He asked Aly if he could stop in the Quidditch supply store for a moment. After going in and getting jostled around, she slipped back outside to wait for him.

Remus was standing not far from the door. "Hey," she said grinning at him.

He looked at her and smiled.

She came up behind him and pressed her body into his back to protect herself from the wind and to steal some of his body heat.

"Thief," he announced as she buried her face in between his shoulder blades.

She laughed, but told him, "Don't complain. You've got a hot chick pressed against you."

He laughed at her comment, as she told him, "I'm surprised you came to day."

"Why?" she felt him stiffen.

She quickly covered her mistake by saying, "You said your aunt was sick."

"She is," he said darkly. "I'm going to go see her tonight."

She nodded into his back but said nothing.

"So," he said changing the subject, "Tell me about this stunt you pulled on your roommates."

Aly happily jumped into her tale of how she turned the bathroom into a walk-in freezer so that the girls who used up all the hot water could understand how it felt to take a cold one.

Remus nodded in approval, "Very clever."

Aly shrugged into him so she knew he felt it.

"You're being modest. What kind of charm did you use?"

Before Aly could answer him, she was flung back against the building wall. She saw stars burst before her eyes. She heard a scuffle and as her eyes came back into focus she saw Peter and Remus holding Sirius back. Logan stood calmly, arms crossed against his chest.

"Calm yourself, Black," Logan told him in an irritated tone.

Sirius merely snarled in response.

"She is with me. Move on."

Sirius seemed to struggle less as he said this so Remus let go of him and took a step forward towards her. "Aly," he started.

"Don't you talk to her either," Logan snapped.

The three boys look at Aly, waiting for a reply.

"Keep your distance, children," Logan instructed.

Aly knew she should've argued, but her head was still spinning from hitting the wall so she said nothing.

The boys looked shocked as Logan took her hand, kissed her forehead, and pulled her towards the castle. Aly let him lead her, still feeling dazed.

"I'm worried about you," Logan said, stopping in front of the Gryffindor portrait.

"Me too," the fat lady said looking down at her. "You don't look well."

"I'm fine," Aly said lamely. "My head hardly hurts."

"I meant with who you associate," Logan corrected.

"I didn't," the fat lady announced.

Logan sent the portrait a glare and continued, "Please stay away from these types of people."

"What do you mean? Boys?" Aly snapped. She felt irritated, especially at him.

"Yes," Logan barked, his lip disappearing halfway.

"No," Aly said.

"What?" Logan's lower lip was completely gone.

"I said, 'No,'" Aly ventured more boldly.

He reached out and smacked her. Aly closed her eyes and breathed deeply. Without a word, she turned to the portrait, who swung open without the password. She went in and heard the fat lady scolding him as he called her name. She sat down in the first chair she found. She sat unseeing, blind with pain and rage.

When she felt a hand on her shoulder, she jumped away in fear.

"Als," Sirius said sitting down across from her. She looked up at him. He started to gasp but caught it before she noticed. He pulled his scarf off and started to blot her face. When he accidentally touched underneath her eye, she gasped and pulled away.

"Shhh," he said and gently finished.

Finally, Aly asked, "What are you doing?"

"Getting the blood off of your face."

"Blood?!" She opened her eyes and looked at the scarf in his hands, covered in blood.

"Oh," she let out what little air was still in her lungs.

"Your nose was bleeding. And it looks like you'll have a black eye."

She nodded without a sound.

"Als,"

"Don't. Please don't," she pleaded in a small voice.

"Don't what?"

"Don't call me that." Tears had welled up in her eyes.

"Ok. Ok," he said quickly.

"Why do I keep crying all the time?" Aly asked aloud to no one in particular.

"I dunno. Maybe it's the company you keep," Sirius supplied.

Aly sniffled causing a pain to shoot through the left side of her face.

"Aly, he's destroying you," Sirius whispered.

Aly stared into those deep, brown eyes that were full of concern for her. For a moment, she wanted to ask for help, ask him to save her, to take her away. But at that moment of realization, a group of girls walked by and all three giggled with a "Hi, Sirius." Aly snapped back and stood.

"What's destroying me is you."

He merely blinked at this statement.

"We can't be friends."

"Why?" He scowled at her.

"You treat me...you're a sweetheart. You're loving and kind and you treat me like I'm the only person you see."

He lowered his eyes.

"Then you run off and fool around with all these other girls."

When he said nothing, she stated simply, "Logan is there, always. He's always there for me and only me. He loves me."

"Does he?" Sirius asked darkly. "Cause he's got a funny way of showing it."

"We can't be friends anymore," she declared bluntly. "Don't talk to me anymore. Don't even look at me."

"Come'on, Als. Don't you think--"

"That too!" she snapped. He had used her nickname again and it only ended up making this harder for her. "Don't even think about me!" she screamed and stormed out of tower. She couldn't even be in the same room as him. If her ears hadn't been ringing, she would've head him say after her, "Believe me. I've tried."

XxXxX

She walked towards the Hufflepuff common room, running into Lily halfway there.

"There you are. What's wrong?"

"Sirius," Aly mumbled.

"Well, no wonder Logan is in a fit."

Aly wanted to tell her that it was Logan and not Sirius who had done what was done to her face, but she couldn't find the strength.

Logan was apparently not far behind Lily.

"Aly," he said, unsure.

"Lily," Aly said turning towards her, "Can you give us a moment?"

"Sure," Lily said, taking the hint. "I'll see you back at the tower."

Aly watched her leave and then turned back to face Logan. "Do you love me?" she asked.

He was stunned. This was obviously not what he had anticipated coming out of her mouth.

"Do you?" she pressed. "I need to know."

She studied his face as he searched for answer. Finally, he said, "I think I do."

She stared at him and he plunged into a long winded apology, "Aly, I'm so sorry. So, so, SO sorry. I just lost my cool. I don't know how to handle you with other guys, especially those other guys. I just worry especially with the families they come from and the stories I hear--"

"You don't have to worry about me talking to those guys anymore," Aly informed him.

"I'm going to be better," Logan said kissing her forehead. "I promise."

XxXxX

Please, please, please review. Anyone like where the story went? Anyone hate it? Tell me! PLEASE!


	30. Christmas and the bellini

Disclaimer: Nada.

XxXxX

December came with a burst of angry snow. Trekking to the greenhouses became so difficult that it took most of their class time just to get there. Lily and Amos still weren't an official couple. It sent a twinge through Aly's heart when Logan told her that he had been giving Amos pointers.

In order to avoid those who Aly now chose not to acknowledge, she spent most of her time with the Hufflepuffs. Lily did so as well. However, when Amos asked Aly where Lily disappeared to every few nights, Aly had no other option but to shrug.

Logan had been more sweet than usual with her, and it broke her heart when he started packing to leave for Christmas.

"Can't you stay?" she pleaded. He had become her only constant. They had been having very few fights and everything had been going so well between the two of them, she hated to have him leave now.

"I'm all my dad's got," Logan told her.

"I'll go with you."

"No," he said simply.

"But I'm small. I take up hardly any space."

"Aly," he turned to look at her, a smile on his face. "You're all _your_ dad's got." He kissed her on the head and told her, "You _will _stay. You _will _survive. And I _will _be back soon." Aly couldn't argue. Logan refused to hear anything bad her dad so it would've been useless to tell him that she probably wouldn't even see her dad over break.

He left on the last train out and Aly slowly made her way back to what she assumed was a now empty Gryffindor tower. However, to her surprise, Sirius and Remus both sat at their usual table. She stopped in place as she saw them, but regained herself quickly and sat on the couch and pulled open a book.

The silence that followed was stifling as evening rolled around them. The air was so thick that when Sirius sneezed, Aly jumped.

"Enough!" Remus exclaimed, jumping up.

"What?" Aly asked, confused by his sudden outburst.

Remus came over to her. "We're going to be together, the three of us, for a while. Can't we get along?"

"Sure," Aly said with a shrug.

Sirius mumbled after her, "Don't you need to check with your boyfriend first?"

Aly snapped her book shut angrily.

Remus scolded Sirius, "That's not helping."

"Really? Really?!" He jumped up in anger. "A month! She's ignored us for a month! Because of her big brute we've been invisible for an entire 31 day cycle! And we're just suppose to forgive and forget?!"

"Sirius," Remus grumbled.

Aly ignored him and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Sirius, let's be adults," Remus pleaded.

Sirius simply stood still, his face twisted in anger, and said nothing.

"What's it matter to you anyways?" Aly asked sharply, starring hard into the fire. "I'm sure you found someone else to fall onto. What do you need me for?"

She peeked over her shoulder and saw his eyes bulge slightly out of his head.

"We're friends!" he finally bellowed. "Fra-ends-sah! I lost my friend to some moron--"

"Hey!" she yelped.

"Sirius, name calling is not going to help," Remus advised.

"Whatever. The point is, Aly, that I miss my friend. I miss talking to you. I miss hanging out. You let him pull you away from us." He folded his arms and sat.

Aly sat where she was, her mind reeling. She blurted out in a whisper before she could stop herself, "I've missed you too." She added in a solid voice, "Both of you."

Remus smiled, kindly.

"We can at least hang out over break," she said reassuringly, feeling excitement stir in her chest.

"No," Sirius said point blank.

"Why not?" Aly snapped.

"Because." His face was set in defiance.

"Because why?" Aly stood and faced him. Her face set in anger.

"Because I said so." He stood as well.

They stared each other down.

"Oh, no. Don't---" Remus moved out of the way just in time.

Two spells expelled from their wands pointed directly at the opposite person. They hit and, with a boom, papers began to float down around them.

"Aww," Aly said stomping her foot, with a smile on her face. "You ruined my book."

Sirius let out a laugh and came bounding over to her and scooped her up into a backbreaking hug.

Remus, who was originally clearly mad, started to laugh as well.

"It's good to have you back." Remus told her coming over.

Sirius wrapped his arms around Remus' shoulders, squashing Aly between the two boys.

"It's good to be back," she breathed.

XxXxX

Being the only three remaining Gryffindors, the three of them pulled their mattresses down and camped out in front of the fireplace. Remus was staying over the holiday's due to his parent's work schedule. When he had found out that Sirius was staying over break, merely to avoid his family, he asked his mother of he could stay and she allowed it, feeling less guilty about being at the hospital on Christmas Day.

Aly arranged with her dad a trip to Diagon Alley to do some last minutes Christmas shopping. The morning off the trip, the three of them made their way to the Headmaster's office. He looked displeased as he saw Aly accompanied by the two boys. They used the Floo Network and arrived within seconds.

"Let's stick together," Remus advised.

"Whhhyyy," Sirius whined. He was like a kid in a candy shop, ready to take off running.

"Because," Remus said. Aly slipped her hand through the crook in Sirius' elbow and held onto him.

They wandered all around the Alley, stopping in each and every store. The wind was harsh on their faces, and after one trip all the way through, they found a coffee shop and ordered hot chocolate.

Aly sat over her cup, letting the steam that was rising warm her face. With a big inhale, she took big whiff of the sweet smell of the chocolate. As she exhaled, she said, "I've missed you guys."

Sirius, who had taken to eating the whipped cream on the top of his, looked up with a big glop of it on his nose. "We are a fun bunch," he said.

Aly laughed aloud and handed him a napkin. He took it but looked at in confusion. He looked at Remus for direction. Remus touched his nose, and Sirius wiped Remus' nose for him. Remus rolled his eyes.

Aly's laughter continued. Sirius smiled back at her and wiped his own nose off.

They finished up and in the shelter of the doorway discussed which shops to revisit. They entered the Qudditch store for the 3rd time that day and Sirius whined, "Again?"

"Yes, please," Aly said moving through the rows.

"What are you looking for?" Remus asked.

"I don't know," she said.

She wandered to the back of the store and stood staring, but not really seeing, at a shelf of broom polishes.

"What would you want for Christmas?" she asked absentmindedly as Sirius wandered past.

He stopped and looked at her. "What do you mean?"

"What would you want from Christmas -- from a girl?" she expanded.

Sirius' face fell as he said simply, in a small voice, "You're shopping for your boyfriend."

Aly, her mind coming back to reality, turned to look at him. Her mouth opened but nothing came out. She had been careful not to mention Logan since they had all made up. She hadn't meant to bring him up now, but she had.

Sirius looked at her and, since he could read her face so well, he knew she hadn't meant it. So, he said, "Get him a visor."

"What?" Aly asked, surprised he was offering help.

"He's a seeker. A blonde seeker, no less. He needs a visor for when he plays in the sun."

Aly nodded and grabbed as he advised.

"And a pair of gloves."

"Gloves?" Aly asked.

"Yeah, James destroyed his last time we played him," Sirius explained.

Aly grabbed those as well. Frowning as she remembered the Quidditch game between Gryffindor and Hufflepuff. It had become a flat out battle between the two houses. She, of course, was on the Gryffindor side, but she never mentioned the game around Logan to avoid problems. When Gryffindor won, James caught the snitch from right under Logan, she celebrated with the Gryffindors, all females, of course. Logan still wasn't happy about it, and she still had the mark on her wrist from where he twisted it.

She unconsciously grasped her wrist at the thought. Sirius stood watching her mood change right before his eyes. "Als--"

Her eyes narrowed.

"Sorry!" he said quickly. "I forgot. It's been a while." He smile a small smile at her and she returned a weak one.

"Maybe a book as well," he offered.

"Equipment and a book -- how romantic," Aly mumbled sarcastically.

"Maybe a picture frame with your picture in it," he sighed in fake exasperation.

Aly jabbed him in the ribs before going up front to pay for her items.

She managed to get Sirius' and Remus' gifts without them seeing as well as all the others that she needed to get.

She collapsed onto her mattress which was warm from the fresh fire that was roaring when they arrived. Aly was sure whichever house elf was responsible for the tower over break had been watching for their return to light the wood before they got to the tower.

She fell into a dreamless sleep, feeling Sirius and Remus sit down on either side of her on their respective mattress.

XxXxX

"Ugh"

"What?" Aly asked, the garland in her hand falling to the floor. She "grred" at it in aggravation and kicked it.

"A tree? In our room?" Sirius asked, pouting

"Our room? Don't you mean the common room?" Aly asked trying to pick up all the garland. After getting even more agitated, she just throw it. It caught midair and wound its way around the tree.

Aly glared at Sirius. "What?" he asked.

"I could've done that," she said bitterly staring at his wand.

"Then why didn't you?" he asked putting his wand away.

"Because," Aly said grabbing a bright gold ornament. "Trimming the tree is one of those things you're suppose to do together during the holiday season."

She placed the gold ball on a branch and stood back to admire her work before grabbing a red ball.

Sirius had a strange look on his face. He said nothing, but he continued to watch her work. She placed 4 ornaments on the tree when she turned to face him.

"What is wrong with you?" Aly asked dusting off a rather old looking star.

He scrunched up his face as if in pain, and before Aly could ask what was wrong she heard it. All four of her bobbles now laid on the floor, nothing more than shards of red and gold glass.

She let out a sound of frustration deep in her throat and proceeded to stomp on the remains of the bulbs.

Sirius came over quickly and grabbed her by the waist and pulled her away from the scene. He sat her down and waited for her to cool off before asking, "Why is this so important to you?"

She exhaled deeply and said, "Because."

"I'm gonna need a little more than that," he said with a half smile.

Aly surrendered, realizing he was going to get the truth out of her anyways, "Because it's what your suppose to do. As a family. Normal people do it. I guess I just wanted to be normal this year."

He nodded.

"Oh well," she shrugged and sent any evil glare at the tree, "Guess that's just one more thing I'll never have."

So the tree stood ignored and bare, except for the one string of garland Sirius hung. He dared not remove it. Aly never made mention of it, but Sirius knew it was there as a reminder of what she couldn't have. It was like a cavity. Whenever he saw her glance at it, he knew it was like she was blowing air into a festering tooth to check it would still hurt. It was best to just let her fester.

Christmas Eve arrived and Aly prepared to spend the evening with the two boys. After her shower, she saw a pile of unidentifiable clothes on her bed. She scurried across the room to investigate. There was a note with just two words on it: Wear me.

It was a red, velvet dress with a red ribbon that went around the waste and tied in a bow in the back. The collars were trimmed with white fluff and it sparkled as if it had been dusted with glitter. She pulled on a pair of white tights and slide into the dress. She slide on a pair of black flats and tied a red ribbon in her hair to act as a headband to hold back her curls.

As she entered the common room, she gasped. She began to tear up as she examined the scene laid out before her. The fire was lit and three stockings hung on its mantle. Sirius and Remus were both dressed in ridiculous, bulky, Christmas sweaters. Sirius also added a Santa hat to his ensemble. Pine and holly was draped over all corners and walls. Mistletoe hung over the portrait hole entrance. And much to Aly's delight, they were decorating the tree by hand. "Happy Christmas!" Sirius announced.

Aly laughed through her tears. "Thank you. And to you too."

"I told you that dress would fit her," Remus said.

Sirius laughed like Santa with a "Ho, ho, ho, Remus! You clever bastard."

Remus rolled his eyes, never being on for the use of such words.

Sirius took Aly by the hand and lead her over to the couch. It had an old crochet blanket thrown over it, and there were christmas books and cups of egg nog on the table.

"This - is --" Aly looked for the right word as she gazed all around her. "Magical."

Sirius and Remus shared a glance of pleasure.

"Wanna help with the tree?" Sirius asked, holding out a gold ornament.

"It's probably best that I don't," she advised. In reality, she just wanted to watch and take it all in.

Sirius and Remus worked together to add the lights, the ornaments, and additional garland to the lonely strand still left. Aly watched in amusement as Sirius managed to get tangled up in a strand of lights and fall down onto the ground. She laughed uncontrollably as Remus plugged him in.

"Question," Sirius said, after untangling himself and taking a big swig of egg nog. He gagged and stuck his tongue out.

"Egg nog is one to be taken slowly," Aly told him and then asked, "What's your question?"

"How does all this eck-let-trick stuff work in here?" He made a face as he said the unfamiliar word.

Aly smiled. Sometimes she forgot just how unexposed to muggle stuff Sirius was. "My dad used some spell to make it so we could plug in the cords and magic, instead of electricity, would make it all work."

"That's cool," he said nodding.

"You have no idea about how any of this non magic stuff works, do you?" she asked.

"None what so ever," he said smiling hugely before bounding for a box. "I've got something for you to put on the tree," he told her.

"Oh no, no, no," she exclaimed. "You've seen what I do to decorations. We don't get along."

"Trust me," Sirius said pulling out a beautiful tree topper.

Aly scooted closer to it. "Wow."

"You get to hang this," Sirius announced.

"But," Aly gasped. She was too overcome with emotion to argue any further. She stared at the beautifully crafted, porcelain angel. She had a creamy, white face with cascading, black hair set in curls. She looked so graceful, Aly was sure she could've danced right out of Sirius' hands.

"Here," he gently handed it to her.

Aly stood and carefully made her way over to the tree. With Remus holding onto to her for support, she climbed the small step ladder place by the base of the tree and put the angel in her rightful place.

As she stepped off the ladder and stood back to admire the boys work, she felt her heart swell with happiness. All three of them watched the angel glow from her own ambience. There was nothing artificial about her glow. She made the rest of the tree look fake and cheap.

"Christmas. A _real_ christmas," Aly whispered. She smiled but realized something, "I know what's missing!"

The boys gave a start and asked, "What?"

"Presents! Under the tree!" she bounded away and up the stairs. She gathered her gifts for the boys, grabbing them all quickly as to not miss any of the fun below.

As she reached the last turn in the stairwell, she paused. The two boys were discussing something in very hush-hush voices.

"That angel is something else," Remus said.

She heard Sirius sigh as he started his story, "It's said to be modeled after the most beautiful witch ever born."

"The one born under the sixth moon to a wench and a power monger?" Remus asked.

"So goes the tale," Sirius said. "This girl, _the bellini_, was born into a broken household, but the wives tale made her a legend. Her father ordered the angel be made when the girl was just 4 years old. It's made out of unicorn horn and mother of pearl."

"Woah," Aly heard Remus gasp.

Sirius murmured his agreement and continued, "Yeah, well, she may have been _the bellini_, but she still had a pretty crappy life. Her old father has been living alone for a while now. Deserted by everyone he ever had. He died over the summer. My parents went with other vultures to pick over the broken pieces of his life. They brought back the angel that had once sat upon his Christmas tree."

"Why do you have it?" Remus asked.

"Because I'm returning it where it rightfully belongs," Sirius told him.

Aly could only guess what Remus' face looked like, but she was sure it was the same expression she was wearing. She heard Sirius explain, "See the resemblance?"

She heard silence follow and then a soft "oh" of comprehension.

"So _the bellini_ --" Remus said.

"Was Aly's mom," Sirius finished.

Aly felt the blood leave her face. That angel was of her mom. Her grandfather had just died. She didn't even know he was still alive.

"So, I stole the angel because it belong to Aly," Sirius said. "It is hers. To do what she wants with."

"Are you going to tell her?" Remus asked.

Aly took that as a good entrance time and appeared, gifts still in hand, and asked, "Tell me what?"

"That you haven't looked in your stocking yet," Sirius said quickly.

Aly nodded and, after placing her gifts under the trees, grabbed her stocking. "Wow," she laughed. It was filled all the way up to top with every different type of candy. "Thanks!"

She put the angel and the story out of her mind, but she couldn't help steal a glance at the top of the tree every so often. She also couldn't help but notice that Remus kept stealing glances at her as well.

XxXxX

The next morning Aly found the boys already waiting for her by the tree.

"Happy Christmas!" Sirius greeted.

"We figured we'd keep up the whole family charade," Remus said with a wink.

Her gifts had been added to in the night. The three of them started into them. Remus opened his very carefully as to not rip the paper. Sirius just tore his paper to shreds. Aly tore hers open but not in a carefree way as Sirius did.

Aly cleaned up, in her opinion. Remus had gotten her a new chess set. Lily got her clothes from her favorite muggle clothing shop. Her dad had gotten her the new bedspread she had been hinting for. When she opened Sirius' gift, she gasped. It went unheard by the two boys. As she stood staring at the silver bracelet, twinkling against the tissue paper, her eyes welled up with tears.

"Wow, Als. Thanks!" Sirius called over to her. He picked up the sweatshirt, and the book Aly got him fell out of it. "Cool!" he exclaimed as he scooped up the book and sank into a chair to begin reading it.

Remus glanced at the cover of the book and shook his head. He paused as he caught sight of Aly's face. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," she sniffled and quickly grabbed her gift from Hagrid.

They headed down for dinner together. Sirius wore his new sweatshirt. Aly's bracelet was tucked carefully under her sleeve. Over dinner, it slipped out and everyone caught sight of it.

"That looks just like the necklace that belonged to your mother," her dad observed.

"It kinda does," Aly said, sending a glance at Sirius.

Before bed, while Remus was getting changed up in the boy's room, Aly had a chat with Sirius.

"Hey," she called to him. "Come sit."

He plopped down on his mattress, facing her. "What's up?"

"Thank you. For the bracelet, I mean."

"It was no big deal," he said shrugging it off.

"How did you---?"

"I saw what happened in the library that day," he said quickly.

Aly took a deep breath in as he continued, "And I saw it break so I saved in for you."

"Thanks," she said.

"So, what happens when, _he_, comes back?" Sirius asked.

"I don't know," Aly said hugging her knees.

"We'll figure it out." He tapped her playfully on the cheek.

He got up and started towards his room.

"So, _the bellini_, huh?"

He stopped in his track. He didn't turn around.

She waited, but when he didn't move, she said, "Thanks for returning it to me."

"No prob," he said without looking back and bounded up the stairs.

Aly pretended to be asleep when Remus and then Sirius came down to go to sleep.

XxXxX

Reviews would be a GREAT early christmas present. =]


	31. Stopped vision

Disclaimer: I have nothing cute to say. Oh "puppies!" that was cute. Proceed with reading

XxXxX

Aly was eating breakfast in the Great Hall. With a rustle of cold air, she dropped her spoon into her cereal bowl. Her head snapped towards the door, all the blood leaving her face. The two others eating with her froze as well. Aly wanted to turn back to them, to tell them to leave, quickly, but she couldn't move. She was frozen facing the door. She licked her lips and waited for the worse.

To her relief, Lily was the only person she recognized come through the door. Lily ran up to her though.

"Logan's on his way up," Lily said, glancing at the boys. "He's talking to the Minster of Magic. Any idea why?"

Aly knew Lily had no inkling to what kind of exchange would happen if she hadn't provided that vital information, but she was grateful none the less.

"Well, thanks, Aly," Sirius said standing up and wiping his palms together.

"Yeah. Thanks," Remus said following his lead. The two boys made their way out of the hall. Aly felt a sudden sadness take over.

"Aly," Lily asked impatiently, "Why is Logan talking to the Minster?"

"I dunno," Aly said absentmindedly.

"Well, go find out," Lily said, pushing her forward. Aly stumbled as she got up. She made her way slowly towards the door. She felt like she was spiraling down a giant drain. There was an invisible force pulling her, and she couldn't stop it. She was dreading seeing Logan. All throughout break, she prayed that he wouldn't come back. She didn't want anything bad to happen to him. She just didn't want him to return. Her heart squeezed tightly in terrified anticipation. It was snowing outside so she stopped and waited in the open doorway.

Sure enough, Logan was deep in conversation with the Minster of Magic and her father. He shifted slightly as they talked and his eye caught a quick glance at Aly in the doorway. His signature smile spread hugely across his face. "If you two don't mind, can we put this off until a later date?" she heard him say. "My girl's waiting for me."

Both of the older men turned and looked at the figure of Aly waiting for her boyfriend. Both smiled knowingly.

"Of course," Dumbledore said.

"Ah, young love," the Minister commented as Logan made his way up the rest of the path.

Aly's heart tightened to the point that she thought it was going to burst as Logan came up to her. "You must be freezing," he commented at her.

He planted a warm kiss on her forehead and she realized that she as very cold.

"I've missed you," Logan said looking down at her.

The look in his eyes sent her heart free from its vice grip. She smiled and kissed his cheek. She felt better with him there for some reason.

"I've missed you too." It was only partly a lie, she realized, and she knew it was the appropriate thing to say in response.

"Let's get you inside."

XxXxX

"What is wrong with you?" Aly yelled at Lily.

"What are you talking about?" Lily asked, completely thrown off by Aly's outburst.

"What are you? Logan's spy?"

Lily didn't answer and lowered her eyes.

"Lily!" Aly gasped. Her hands covered her mouth in horror. "You're suppose to be _my _friend!"

"I am!" Lily responded in agony.

"Then why are you tattling on me to my boyfriend?" Aly snapped, hurt and angry.

Lily studied her hands as she said, "Logan is worried about you. He just wanted me to keep an eye on you. Make sure you're ok when he can't be with you."

Aly sighed. Lily did what she thought was for the best. It didn't take away the feeling of betrayal Aly felt.

Just minutes before, Aly had been yelled at for having one of her t-shirts found in the 4th year boys dormitory. In reality, it had gotten scooped up with blankets as Remus and her cleaned up their mattresses at the end of break. She couldn't explain why it was there because she hadn't told Logan about her spending time with the boys. So she just stood silently and took his yelling.

"Lily, I don't need a babysitter." Aly announced.

"Logan's --" Lily paused.

"Logan's what?" Aly asked impatiently.

"He's jealous."

"What?" Aly couldn't picture him being jealous. Overprotective, yes. But jealous? No.

"Of Sirius. He thinks you like him," Lily explained in a small voice.

Aly snorted.

"And I agree with him," she continued.

"Honestly," Aly said shaking her head.

"Well, Aly, what do you expect me to think?" Lily asked putting her hands on her hips.

"I expect you and Logan to trust me. This isn't trust. This is trickery," Aly explained. "This is worse than what my dad's done."

That one hit Lily where it hurt. She merely frowned at Aly.

"Picture it if the roles were reversed, Lily. What if it was Amos having me track you?"

Lily perked right up. "Amos has been asking you about me?"

Aly rolled her eyes and let Lily go into an in depth conversation with herself about if Amos really liked her liked her or if he just liked her.

Sirius rolled with laughter on Sunday when Aly told him and Remus about it.

"He's jealous of me? Bahahahaha." He held his side and fell out of his chair.

Aly rolled her eyes at him much like she had at Lily but for a much different purpose.

Remus smiled at the spectacle Sirius made but nudged him with his toe. "You need to keep it down."

"Oh ho ho," Sirius said as he tried to calm himself. He propped himself up on one elbow to look at Aly. "So, where are you?"

"Huh?"

"Where does,_ he_, think you are right now?" Sirius explained. "I know you didn't tell him that you were hiding out in the Astronomy tower with the two of us. So where are you?"

Aly smiled. Her plan was genius in her opinion. "With my dad," she said with a wicked smile.

Her meetings with her dad were public knowledge. What wasn't spread around was that she hadn't been to one in forever. Aly knew that Lily studied in the library on Sunday night. So she told Logan and Lily she was with her dad (neither one would ever think to question it), and she offhandedly told James where Lily studied every Sunday. So, she was free of her overprotective boyfriend, her snooping best friend, and her least favorite Marauders (Peter tagged along with James as his own personal cheerleader).

"Bout time he turned out to be useful for ya, huh?" Sirius said getting back into his seat.

Aly smiled and Remus frowned.

"Well," Remus said, "I don't like that you're lying, but I am glad that you finally found time to fit us into your schedule."

"Me too," Aly said with all her heart.

XxXxX

"So, Logan. What's with all the ministry chat?"

Aly was eating, or pretending to eat, at lunch one Saturday afternoon with Logan and Lily. She hated that they were in cahoots. She always felt ganged up on. She was grateful, for her sanity's sake, that the next day was Sunday and that meant she'd get to spend an hour with Sirius and Remus.

Logan puffed his chest out and said, "Well, since you asked," he sent an unfriendly look at Aly. She still hadn't bothered to ask him about his chat with the Minister of Magic his first day back from break. Mostly because she was sure she didn't really care.

"I am t_he_ student liaison for Hogwarts within the ministry. I get to attend important meetings and hearings and other important ministry things like that."

"Wow." Lily was obviously impressed. "What do you think, Aly? Isn't that great?"

Aly lifted her fork and spun it around in the air to show just how high her enthusiasm was.

Logan looked at her, his eyes set hard. "What is wrong with you?"

Aly merely put her fork back into her noodles and spun it around trying to capture them all. Logan's fist hit the table and Lily's drink spilt over.

Aly showed no sign of even hearing. She even went as far as to yawn as Lily tried to mop up her drink.

Logan got up and stormed out of the hall.

Lily stopped trying to clean and stared at Aly. "Shouldn't you go after him?"

Aly just shrugged, still staring at her plate.

"Aly!" Lily said sharply.

She finally looked up and knew as soon as she saw the look on Lily's face that she wasn't going to drop this.

"Ugh. Fine." Aly made her way after Logan. She found his fuming in the entrance hall.

"Look, Logan. I'm sorry."

He had her by the wrist. It hurt, but not nearly as bad as usual. In fact, as far as Aly could tell, he wasn't grasping onto her with any of his strength.

"Did I do something?" he asked.

"What?" Aly was confused. This wasn't how these things went. He was in her face, but he wasn't yelling. He was holding onto her, but he wasn't hurting her. It had been since before Christmas since they had had a fight, but Aly was sure it wasn't suppose to be going like this.

"Did I do something to upset you? Or make you mad at me?" He looked intense but not in a scary way.

"No. Why?" Aly asked, devoid of any emotion.

"You're distant. Something's wrong. Is it us?" He was clearly upset.

Aly thought about it. Was something wrong between them? Well, she knew without hesitation that that was a yes. But was she ready to end it right then and there? She opened her mouth the speak, and it hit her.

The same old feeling: a black, tunnel sucking her in, taking away her air, drowning her.

"Aly?" she heard far away. Next thing she felt was a cold grip on her arm. And she came back. It was a slower process than blacking out and waking up, but she didn't fall all the way in. He had pulled her out. He had saved her.

She was helped to a sitting position and everything made its way back into focus.

"How did you do that?" she asked, feeling more foggy than she had ever felt.

"Do what?" his eyes were on her, studying her. He looked almost afraid of her.

She shook her head to dismiss it.

"You didn't eat anything. You should eat something. That would make it so that won't happen again." He was talking mostly to himself.

"You're right." She held out her arms, "Help me up?"

He hesitantly pulled her up to her feet.

He had stopped it. How had he done that? Her mind was spinning from the almost pass out and the questions she couldn't answer.

He seemed very unsure of what to do with her and not in a caring way.

"Don't just stand there," she snapped. "Say something!"

"Are, are you alright?" he asked.

She shrugged.

"I'm taking you to the hospital wing."

"No," she argued, but he pulled her up into his arms and was off.

"Logan--" she whined, "Put me down."

Her head hurt too bad. Her eyes wouldn't come completely back into focus. Her eyelids were too heavy. She didn't see her arrival at the hospital wing.

XxXxX

Aly opened her eyes. It was dark. A figure moved in the dark. She went to scream, but a hand slipped over her mouth.

"God, Aly. Wake everyone up, why don't'cha?"

The voice, and she'd never admit it but the smell as well, told her it was Sirius.

"What are you doing here?" she growled. "You nearly gave me a heart attack."

"I had to come see this crazy, possessed woman everyone's been talking about."

"What?!"

"That's what your boyfriend's been telling people anyways."

She huffed out her nose. Logan was going to pay for spread such lies about her.

"I figured you had," he waved his hand around, "one of your things."

"Yeah," she mumbled.

"I just wanted to check on you," he told her.

"Liar," she grumbled. "You just wanna know what I saw."

His teeth reflected the moon light around them, and she knew he was smiling.

"So...?"

"So what?" she snapped.

"What did you see?" He sat down on her bed, "Anything good?"

"Nope."

"Nothing good? Or . . . What?"

"Nothing. I saw nothing," and with that her rant began, "It started. Logan grabbed me. I pulled out of it. He brought me here. I feel asleep. He thinks I'm crazy and is telling everyone I am. So now I'm the possessed, crazy lady, or whatever it was that you called me." She flopped back onto her pillows.

"Nothing? Really? How'd that happen?"

"I don't know."

Sirius looked irked about this. Aly didn't know why or what to say to him.

"Is there anything you need from me?" he finally asked.

"What?" Aly could tell he was just saying what he thought was appropriate to say in that moment.

He didn't answer. Both sat quietly for awhile. Finally, she heard him mumble, "He made it stop."

"Yes he did," she answered blankly.

He jumped, obviously not aware of the fact that he said that aloud.

"It's bugging me too," Aly said trying to comfort him.

He turned to look at her. It was very hard for Aly to make out his expression without the reflection of the moon on it.

"How?"

Aly shrugged.

"Was it--- Maybe it was --- Could it---" he stuttered, talking to himself.

Aly cut him off, "It's driving me crazy too, but it's not giving you a headache, is it?"

"Sorry. I've just seen it before. It's not something that can be stopped."

Aly nodded and froze. "What was that?"

Sirius sat very still. "Foot steps."

Aly looked towards the door.

"Crap," was all she heard before the door opened and she realized that Sirius had disappeared somewhere. She prayed he had James' invisible cloak.

The light streamed in as Aly's curiosity over took her. Just who was wandering into the hospital wing at this hour and for what was intriguing. She crossed her fingers that it was something that would eclipse her own episode from earlier.

She slumped, her shoulder dropping, as she realized that it was her father and Logan.

She pursed her lips together and scowled.

"Alyson," her father said, flicking on the lights, "You're awake."

She flinched from the sudden light and covered her eyes.

Logan was by her side when she squinted them open, taking the spot the Sirius had just vacated.

She heard the wing door start to click, barely open, and then quickly close. She heaved a huge, silent sigh of relief.

"Aly," Logan took her hand, "Are you okay?"

She wanted to wretch her hand from his grasp, but she realized that she wasn't suppose to know that he was telling that she was crazy.

"I'm fine," she said as nicely as she could.

"Logan came to my office to see if he could speak to me about what happened," Dumbledore explained. "He was worried about you and wanted to come make sure you were okay. You've been out for a while." He made direct eye contact with her as he said, "He cares about you. He worries about you because he loves you." Aly knew as he said this that he knew someone, who couldn't be seen, had already been to visit her.

Aly merely stared back at him.

"I'm fine. I haven't eaten anything in about, what, 3 days now? My blood sugar must've hit rock bottom. That's normal for anyone, right?"

Logan seemed to blush a profuse amount. He must've just realized what lies he was spreading. Aly took advantage of this, "What's wrong, Logan? Why are you blushing so badly?"

His eyes narrowed on her.

"Why is my not eating upsetting you? I mean, my dad certainly wouldn't blame you for that. So what's with the blush?"

His hand tightened around hers.

"I've just been worried," Logan told her through clenched teeth.

"Well, I'm going to go back to sleep and tomorrow will be a better day." She pulled up his hand and kissed it.

"Yes, it will." He squeezed her hand to the point of pain, but he smiled at her as he said, "Tomorrow I have something special planned. Tomorrow, you are all mine."

Aly felt her heart flicker as she realized that she wasn't going to get to see Sirius. Or Remus.

XxXxX

Reviews are cute. Leave me cute things.


	32. Coma

Disclaimer: Nothing belongs to me.

XxXxX

Valentine's Day arrived without much of Aly's notice. She wasn't even aware that the day had arrived until Sirius presented her with a box.

"What is this?" she asked skeptically.

"Just open it," he said shoving it into her hands.

She pulled the ribbon on it and stared down at the gift in the box.

"Sirius," she whispered, "I can't accept this."

"Sure you can," he said, grabbing it from the tissue paper and attaching it with a rough hand.

"Be gentle," she said, breathless.

She let the garnet heart set in silver catch the light. "Sirius, I really can't take this."

"It's already yours. It goes with your bracelet," he explained and took the box back.

He turned and left.

She ate breakfast with Logan, who presented her with a rose and a kiss.

Logan got up in the middle of breakfast telling Aly that he had to discuss something with Professor McGonagall.

"Let me see," Lily demanded once he got up.

"See what?" Aly asked, confused.

"Let me see what Sirius gave you."

"What did Sirius give you?" Logan asked, sitting down. Aly could tell he was trying to be calm.

"Uh oh," Lily mumbled, turning back to Amos, a blush spreading across her face.

Aly ignore his comment.

"Aly, tell me."

She looked at him and told him, "He gave me a note. I left it in my room. I will be more than willing to show it to you after class."

Logan was still obviously peeved, but took this as a victory.

As soon as she arrived to her first class, Aly ran up to Sirius, "Quick. Write me a note."

"Bout what?" His eyebrows were up.

"Logan wants to see the note you gave me this morning," she stressed, not want to give away too much information.

"Ok," he said with a shrug.

Aly presented it to Logan at lunch. He grunted at it. Sirius had scribbled down the time of their next quidditch practice. Logan made sure to be at every quidditch practice after that.

XxXxX

"I need to talk to you."

"Here?" Sirius asked.

"Later," Aly said walking past.

She had had a rough month. Logan had taken to watching every once of food she put in her mouth and followed her around every chance he could. He also had taken to telling off, loudly, anyone who seemed to even look at Aly weird. Aly figured he felt bad for starting the rumors himself and that that was his attempt to make it up to her. She had spent almost all of her time thinking and running over scenarios in her head. What if she broke up with Logan? What if she stayed with him?

She had weighed the pros and cons over and over on each side. She had talked to Logan about what was wrong between them [as much as she could anyways] and had asked Sirius, on the sly, to avoid girls for a week, as an experiment. She had observed the behavior of both boys and, after much deliberation, had made her decision.

"Hey, Aly." Sirius was perched on the window sill in the astronomy tower, waiting for her later that day.

She paused in the door, took a deep breath, and moved to sit across from him. She was nervous as she asked, "So, how'd the experiment go?"

He peeked up at her through lowered eye lids. "I've never been one to do as instructed," he said with a slight smile.

Her body stiffened. She took a deep breath and said, "I'm sorry to hear that."

"Why?" He immediately sensed the change in her body and tone.

She continued on as if she hadn't heard his question, "But it will make this much easier for me."

"Make what easier?" He had stood and was staring down at her.

She pulled together all of her strength and said strongly, "I can't see you anymore."

He merely changed his stare to a glare and waited.

She raised her eyebrows at him, having nothing else to say herself.

He put his arms across his chest and studied her. "Why?" he demanded.

She opened her mouth the answer, but he cut her off, "Is it because of _him_?"

"No," Aly answered quickly.

He snorted in disbelief.

"It's not because of him," she insisted.

"Then why?" he asked.

She took a deep breath and plunged into her well practiced speech, "I made this decision on my own. I thought about it and realized that it was for the best if I refrained from talking to you anymore. I have weighed the pros and the cons very carefully, and I feel that this is for the best."

She finished with a nod at her feet.

He seemed to sniff in a few short bursts and finally said, "That explained nothing to me."

Motion ripped through her as she tried to find the words to explain. She sniffed as tears filled her eyes. "You couldn't stay away from other girls for a week," she whispered.

It was his turn to let out a sigh.

"One week. That's all I asked." The tears were freely flowing, silently.

He said nothing.

"Fine," Aly snapped as she grew tired of waiting on him to say something. "The point is that I picked him. Logan is loyal. He wants me. He treats me ---"

"Like crap!" Sirius snapped.

Aly closed her eyes very tight and continued, "He treats me like I am special. Like I am more to him than just one girl among many."

"You aren't just one among many!" his arms flew up into the air. "Aly, you're my Aly."

"No, no, no. Don't do this to me," she pleaded through her tears. "I can't do this. I've made my choice. Just let me leave."

He nodded to himself, and finally said, "I understand. You can go."

She nodded and wiped her face with the back of her hand. At the door, she didn't turn to look at him as she said, "Tell Remus for me, will you?"

"Yeah."

"What's wrong?" Logan asked jumping up as she entered the Hufflepuff common room.

Her eyes were puffy and she lied quickly, "My allergies."

He kissed her forehead and had her sit down on the couch with him.

XxXxX

The school year came to an end without any excitement. Aly feel back into the monotone that was life with Logan, but she happily fell into it. At least it was a constant. She let him guide, pull, and direct her through every aspect of her life. She barely noticed that she missed her time with Sirius and Remus. It only occasionally caught her off guard. She would be laying awake in Logan's bed, which is where she spent most of her nights, and she'd remember something that Sirius had said. And then she'd remember Remus' reaction. After this happened, she'd often fall to sleep with silent tears running her face.

After some time, she fell into a walking coma. Her mind was almost always a complete blank. She did start going to her meetings with her dad. Originally, it was to keep her cover story in place. As time went on, it became just another part of her routine. Her dad seemed to notice a change in her, but never questioned it, much like Lily.

Summer came quickly, and her dad allowed her two weeks at the Evans'. They were to take place at the beginning of August.

All of July, Aly spent her time working at the Ministry. Her dad had pulled some strings and got her the job sorting through papers that had been misfiled. She sat in a cubical, by herself, all morning; ate lunch with Logan, who had a summer internship; and then went back to her cubical and sat by herself til she took the Floo network back to Hogwarts to spend the evening alone.

Aly would've cared about the monotone her life had taken, but she didn't notice. She felt nothing and rarely heard anything people said when they talked to her. She had imbedded the right automatic responses to the typical comments she heard.

July ended and Aly packed to go to Lily's. Lily was more than excited to see her. She pounced upon her and proceeded to jump up and down, shrieking. Aly merely smiled at her, one of her automatic responses. Lily had her job at Dairy Queen again. With her mom still in remission and back at work as well as her dad that made Aly's choice of spending the day between home alone with Petunia or at DQ with Lily. There really was no question.

So, Aly sat in Dairy Queen eating free ice cream all day. There was rarely anyone in the store during the day except for the occasional grade schoolers who never ordered anything but water. The only person there with the two of them was Brandon. He was a muggle who usually smelled and looked dirty, and he quickly developed a crush on Aly.

He would push his dirty, hair back and tilt his head to the side to stare at her whenever she would come in [Lily would have to open and Aly would arrive later in the day after sleeping in]. He would then proceed to serenade her, if you could even call what he did singing, with songs he learned the night before from his dad's old 50's records. She learned quickly to ignore him.

Everyday, Lily and Aly would go to the movies or rent a few to watch at Lily's house. By the end of the first week, they had watched over 15 movies. They knew the boys who worked at the local movie rental due to the fact that it took them about an hour to pick out, agree upon, and pay for the movie. Aly, was once again, the object of these boys desires. She normally would've been embarrassed by their attention, but she was still in her walking coma. One her first Thursday night at Lily's, Mike, one of the normal rental boys, asked her out. She, still relying on her automatic responses, said yes. He scribbled down his number when she didn't offer hers and she took it.

She sat in the living room, starring at the slip of paper, as Lily popped popcorn for their movies. For the first time in 6 months, Aly felt something stir inside of her chest. What was is it? She couldn't place it.

"Why are you smiling so big?" Lily asked coming into the room. Aly felt herself crack from within her shell. It was happiness. She had forgotten what it had really felt like.

"I got asked out on a date," Aly told her, holding up the number.

"What?!" Lily tried to yank it from her, but Aly saved it by holding it to her chest. "You can't go," Lily said flatly in response.

"Yes I can," Aly argued as she stared at it again.

"You have a boyfriend," Lily said point blank. "You have a boyfriend who sends you letters everyday. You can't date this guy."

Aly glared at her and realized she was right. Logan did send her letters everyday telling her how much he loved and missed her. She just didn't like to be told what she could and could not do.

"Would it really hurt anything?" Aly asked honestly, not really knowing.

"Yes," Lily said, coming to sit down next to her. "It would. He trusts you. Don't betray his trust."

Aly nodded, but still wasn't 100% convinced. As she laid on the floor in Lily's room, the movie scene sending light patterns on the ceiling above her, she contemplated going out with the boy. However, by morning, she had retreated back to her coma.

XxXxX

Her last day with Lily, before returning to Hogwarts for two weeks of solitary confinement before school started, she sat eating her last ice cream cone of the summer. Brandon came over and hovered awkwardly over her.

"Alyson," he said, clearing his throat.

She merely turned to look at him.

"For you," he presented her with bouquet of almost dead looking flowers. Aly took them, automatically, and figured that they used to be daisies. She felt the corners of her mouth turn up slightly.

She stood, and said, "Thank you."

He smiled hugely and, before Aly knew what was happening, he had taken a huge breath and was kissing her, his tongue all over her mouth.

She grimaced, pushed him away, and smacked him.

"Lily!" she shrieked. Lily had been in the back.

"What's wrong?" Lily asked running out.

"I will see you at home." Aly said storming halfway to the door. She turned back, smacked Brandon with the bouquet, and then ran out.

Lily didn't ask about it when she came home from work, mostly because Aly was leaving about an hour later.

"We love you, Aly," Mrs. Evans said hugging her tightly. "We best see you soon."

Aly promised they would. Her dad was waiting in the backyard. She told him she didn't need him to come get her, but he had insisted.

"See you, Lily!" she called to her best friends.

"You too! I'll miss you!" Lily called back.

"Me too!" Aly called and she was sure she heard Lily yell, "Feel better," as she and her dad disapparated back to school.

XxXxX

Review.


	33. The bracelet

Disclaimer: you know the routine.

XxXxX

Aly's first week back was just a continuation of the past months. She hadn't even had a chance to go see her own dormitory since Logan had returned to the castle, Head Boy pin on his chest.

Amos had taken to acting much like Logan towards Lily. He refused to let her out of his sight and, as far as Aly could tell, he was treating her like crap. If the thought of kicking his butt hadn't slipped into the fog that constantly filled her mind, she would've done it.

All of September stayed very hot. One day, Aly had taken off her uniform sweater and forgotten to put it back on before seeing Logan. "What's with the bracelet?" he asked.

Aly didn't look up from her book and mumbled, "Huh?" She never really paid any attention to the fact that every morning she clipped her bracelet around her wrist. It was just another part of her day.

"Is it from your dad?"

Again, Aly didn't answer. She merely was heard making a "Mmmh" noise.

Logan dropped the subject, and Aly sighed with relief.

It didn't end there though. Lily asked about it at breakfast the next day. "Why are you still wearing Sirius' bracelet?" She had said it offhandedly.

"What?!" Logan snapped.

Lily shrunk back.

"What do you mean?!" Logan yelled, and Aly's shoulders sunk as she sat and let him bark at her.

"He gave you that bracelet you always wear?" he finally asked, grabbing her wrist. "I thought it was from your dad."

"I never said that," Aly pointed out.

He reached for the links and tried to tear it off of her. She reacted out of instinct and pulled away quickly. His nails, going for the clasp, raked the soft skin of her arm. Aly let out a low hiss and jumped up. She began to bleed from the rows of open skin.

She left without a look back. She arrived at the hospital wing with tears rolling down her face.

The nurse cleaned and bandaged her up without a word and then asked, "What happened?"

Aly merely wiped the tears from her face and said, "A fight."

"Someone did this on purpose?" the nurse asked in shock.

"No!" Aly exclaimed. "It was an accident!" She ran out of the hospital wing and headed to class.

She found James sitting in her usual seat, next to a very unhappy Lily.

"Miss Dumbledore, you missed divisions."

"For what?"

Before McGonagall could answer, Sirius came running in right behind her. McGonagall frowned and said, "5 points each. Take the open desk, please."

They sat down and McGonagall explained the project at hand. "As a historical project, we will be studying family histories, wizard born or not. So, you are now ---" she took a breathe and steeled herself up, "You are now married to your partner."

The room buzzed. Girls giggled. Boys groaned. James let out an audible "yes!" Aly turned to look at Sirius wondering what his reaction would be. He was still facing forward, and his face was twisted oddly.

"So," McGonagall said, cutting through the chatter, "The first part of the project is to get to know your spouse."

Aly waited for Sirius to turn to face her. She was actually feeling intrigued. She wanted to learn more about him and his family.

"So, Mr. Black, care to share?" she asked, nudging him slightly, trying to sound excited.

He turned, but his face was still twisted. "I saw what he did to you," he said darkly.

Aly instantly slide her arm off of the table.

"Why?" he whispered.

"What?"

"Why?" he growled loudly.

People around them turned to look.

"Because," she said simply, smiling at the people who had turned to look. Once they had gone back to their own conversations, Aly told him simply, "Because of the bracelet."

Sirius closed his eyes tightly. "What a prick," he mumbled.

"I think I should give it back," Aly said meekly.

Sirius turned and glared at her, studying her. "What happened to you? You're letting him take control. You're stronger than this. Don't let him walk all over you."

Aly merely looked at him. Her foggy mind had trouble registering what he had to say.

"Stand up to him," he said slamming his fist down.

"Stop that," Aly ordered, her head spinning, putting her hand on top of his fist. "Tell me about yourself."

"What do you want to know?" he asked still angry.

"What's your favorite color?" she asked quickly.

"You already know that it's green," he said with an eye roll.

"What kind of green?"

"Emerald." He was calming down.

"Favorite food?"

"Bread."

"Bread?" her eyebrows went up.

"Any type," he said with an added shrug. "I just like it."

She smiled at him. For the first time in what seemed like years, something had not been sucked into the fog of her mind. Sirius seemed to be invincible against it.

"Your favorite color is silver, and your favorite flower is a daisy. You have a bird name Fawkes. You never knew your mom. You don't get along with your dad--"

She swatted at him playfully, "I'm suppose to be telling you about me. Not you telling me about me."

He smiled at her. "Then go ahead. I'm listening."

XxXxX

"Take that off," Logan snapped as he came upon her in the library.

She had decided against going to meet him for lunch. Aly had, instead, wandered around the grounds, rethinking her conversation with Sirius over and over again.

Sirius' words were still running through her head, and she snapped, "No. You're just going to have to get used to it and get over it." She felt her nerve failing almost instantly.

He frowned deeply, and slide into the chair across from her. "I just worry about you," he said taking her hand.

"Worry?"

"That you're mixing into the wrong crowd," he explained.

"But I haven't talked to Sirius since February," Aly told him.

"Well, I still think you need to stay away from him and anyone like him," he kissed her hand.

"Well, I can't," Aly stated. She felt Logan's hand tighten. "He's my husband for the rest of the year." Logan's hand was a vice grip upon hers, and she complained, "Ouch, Logan. You're hurting me."

He dropped her hand immediately. "Sorry," he mumbled. He added, "I hate that stupid project."

"You trust me though. Right?"

"Of course," Logan grumbled. "I just think you can do better for a husband. Much better."

Aly forced a smile, and he kissed her forehead and left.

XxXxX

Sirius yawned.

"You could work if you're so bored," Aly told him. They were in Professor Binns class looking through books for famous family members.

"I'll just use a True Tree spell," he said looking off into space.

"That's dark magic," Aly scolded.

"Only when used for bad," Sirius corrected.

Aly scoffed. She had been working with Sirius for two weeks and was ready for him to actually do some sort of work.

"How's Logan?" he suddenly asked, staring at the ceiling.

"Fine," Aly said tightly.

"Hit you lately?"

"Nope."

"Still wearing that bracelet?"

"Of course."

Aly saw him smile in triumph.

She rolled her eyes. Lately, all Logan wanted to talk about was what Sirius had said or done to her, examining every detail with deep scrutiny, trying to find something he could use as an excuse to attack Sirius. Aly never gave him any. What made things worse was that all Aly had to talk about was what Sirius had said and done that day. This was because he was still the only thing not getting sucked into her fog. So, she wasn't particularly pleased when Sirius decided to talk about Logan.

"Does he leave a bruise whenever he sees it?" Sirius asked.

"Look," Aly sighed, "Can we just not talk about him?"

Sirius looked at her and the words that followed spilt out of her mouth before she could stop them, "This is the only time I get away from him, and I don't want to spend it talking about him. Alright?"

"Sure," he smiled.

She felt annoyed by his goofy grin and asked harshly, "So, which girl you got your eye on for today's hook up?" She determinedly flipped though her book.

He didn't say anything, pulled a book towards him, and opened it.

"No answer?" Aly asked before class ended.

"Was it an honest question?" Sirius asked.

Aly shrugged.

"Ask Remus, if you wanna know so bad," he instructed as he grabbed her book and took it with his up to the front of class to be placed back on the book carts.

"Ask me what?" Remus asked.

"Nothing," Aly said grabbing her bag and leaving in irritation before Sirius got back to their table.


	34. Snapped

"Woah!"

Aly was sitting the Gryffindor common room, working on the bloodline assignment for her and Sirius' project.

"Do you feel that?" Sirius asked no one in particular.

"I don't feel anything," Peter told him as he and the other Marauders walked past him.

"Well, I feel it. It's nippy in here. Hell just froze over." He sent a mocking smile at Aly.

"Ha. Ha. Very funny," Aly said bitterly.

"What brings you to our neck of the woods?" Sirius asked making his way over to her.

She chose to ignore him and keep working.

"What? I'm just saying, it's not everyday you grace us with your presence, Miss Dumbledore."

"You would if _you_ were ever in here," Aly snapped, still not looking at him even though he was standing right in front of her. "I suppose your tramps have taken to classier places than the Gryffindor tower, like maybe a random broom closet."

Sirius said nothing but hovered over her.

She looked up at him and the look on his face seemed to be one that suggested that he was torn on something.

"If you have something to say, just say it," Aly barked.

He simply shrugged and walked away.

Lily came scrambling in not much later and quickly made her way over to Aly.

"You have to go."

Aly looked up at her.

"Aly, you have to go."

"Why? I'm working," Aly stated.

"Logan's on his way here, and he _will_ come in here," Lily informed her.

"Dammit," Aly scooped her things up and followed a frantically Lily out the portrait hole. There they found Logan, red in the face and obviously mad.

"Hi, Logan. Bye, Logan," Lily said quickly and scurried away, sending a quick glance back at Aly.

Aly merely rolled her eyes. "What?" she asked rather harshly.

Logan narrowed his eyes at her and stood staring.

"What is wrong with you?" Aly moved past him and he made a grab for her.

Aly jumped back and Logan was knocked to the floor by the portrait hole swinging open rather quickly. The Marauders appeared out of it and looked down at the sprawled out Logan.

"Oh, sorry, Trentecost," Sirius said without one ounce of remorse.

Remus and James exchanged an odd glance.

"Black, just you wait--" Logan started.

"Let's go," James said trying to move them along.

Sirius looked back over his shoulder as they left, "Aly, come sit with us tonight at dinner. I got my half of the project done. We can compare and calculate." He winked as he held up a notebook.

"Okay," Aly said surprised. She had been working on his half and never guessed he'd have finished it himself.

Logan pulled himself as Aly watched them walk away.

"You are not eating with --"

Aly cut him off, "Yes I am." She turned to face him "This is about homework, Logan. Get over yourself." With that she followed after the Marauders, trying to catch up.

XxXxX

"I feel like I never see you anymore, Aly," Logan complained.

Aly was diligently trying to finish up her half of the assignment they had been given that day, knowing that Sirius was more than likely already done. She could never figure out how he did it all so fast.

"We need to spend more time together," Logan pressed. They were sitting on his bed up in his room. He had been tossing a ball into the air, but once he had dropped it and it rolled out of reach, he decided that he needed Aly's attention.

"Come'on, Aly," he kissed her neck. It was an awkward kiss because of the angle Aly was sitting at it. He pressed his lips into her throat and she coughed out of discomfort.

"Aly," he said in frustration. He grabbed her book and flung it across the room. "Logan!" she exclaimed.

With his distraction from the book working, Logan took a hold of Aly and pushed her down on the bed. He began to kiss her roughly. She squirmed out of chagrin.

"Logan, stop," she said as his hand moved down her side to her hip.

He was breathing heavy over her. They had been in this situation before and every time it ended the same way.

"Come'on, Aly," he complained and kissed her collarbone. Aly suddenly remembered when Sirius had done a much similar thing almost two years before and blushed.

"See," Logan said, kissing her mouth again.

"Log-gan," Aly whined, trying to push him off of her.

"Lighten up, Aly," he said as he slipped his hand inside her shirt and started heading north. "Lily lets Amos go this far."

With that, Aly yelled, "STOP!" and pushed him off of her onto the floor.

She sat up and forcefully pushed her shirt back down. "I don't care what Lily and Amos do. God, Logan."

She got up and grabbed her book off the floor. He lunged for her ankles, and she fell face first into the dusty carpet. He hovered over her, smiling. He apparently thought the whole thing was funny.

"Aly, your not really mad at me, are you?"

"Yes." She pulled herself up into a sitting position.

His eyebrows furrowed, "Why?"

"Why do you insist upon doing that?" she asked.

"Cause that's what boyfriends and girlfriends are _suppose _to do." He said it like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Well, I don't." She stood up and waited for him to stand as well.

He didn't stand though.

"Why?" he asked, studying her.

"Why what?" Aly asked impatiently.

"Why don't you like to do that? It can't be because you don't like to. You never have."

"How do you know what I have and haven't done?" Aly asked, hurt for some reason.

"Oh, come'on, Aly."

"No, you come on!"

"Well, who then?" Logan asked, looking humored. "There wasn't anyone before me was there? I figured I was your first kiss."

"Well, you weren't."

"Who then?"

Ay answered before she could stop herself, "Sirius Black. 2nd year. By the lake."

Logan didn't find this conversation funny anymore. He was up and next to her, holding onto her arm. "Black?"

"Yea," she said as she tried to pull her arm away from him.

His hand grasped her so tight she felt her breathe leave her body.

"Why does everything come back to Black?" Logan asked, bearing down upon her.

Aly said nothing, the fog starting to move forward to take over her mind.

"He is trash, Aly. How many times do I have to tell you? He _is_ trash. His family is trash. All of them are trash." He shook her. "You better change your story. Your first kiss was with me. I don't want people thinking you are filth by association. I won't have it." He shook her so hard her ponytail fell out on its own.

Something inside Aly snapped. "Get the hell off of me!" She clawed him across the eyes. He gasped and let go of her. "We are through, Logan. Hear me? Over and done with." She stormed out of the room and down the stairs. She prayed he wouldn't follow her, but sure enough he did.

Aly ran as fast as she could and nearly fell over with relief when she found her father strolling along the hallway towards the Gryffindor common room. "Dad!" she gasped, coming up next to him, pausing to catch her breathe.

"What's wrong?" he asked in concern.

"I broke up with Logan," she gasped.

He looked shocked, but said, "Oh, don't worry, Alycat. Everything will be fine."

"No, it won't. He's chasing me. Don't let him take me away from you. Please," she pleaded.

Logan appeared next to them, "Hello, sir," he greeted the headmaster politely. "May I borrow your lovely daughter for but a moment."

Aly forcefully replied, "No, you may not."

Dumbledore looked down at Aly's look of determination and told Logan, "I've seen that look before. She's not gonna budge on this. You best go back to your own house, Logan."

He turned, looking very disappointed that he didn't have as much pull with the headmaster as he thought. "Thank you," Aly whispered to her dad, before running towards her own common room.

XxXxX

The days that followed were not easy for Aly. Logan tried to pounce on her any chance he got. She hadn't told anyone but her father that she had broke up with him, and apparently, he hadn't either. He tried to keep up a charade of a happy couple whenever he was near her. Aly made it a point to always be near a teacher whenever possible.

She threw herself into her school work. She began getting top grades in all of her classes, as apposed to the mediocre ones she received when she wasn't dedicating herself to her work. This caused Lily to become upset because it was usually her, and not Aly, receiving compliments from all of their teachers.

Aly spent all of November alone. She was never seen in a public place around the castle, except for class, or even the Gryffindor common room. Logan was still working with Lily and any chance Lily saw to reconcile them, she tried. Logan had access to the common room as Head Boy, and he wasn't afraid to use it.

Aly spent a lot of time in her own room, in Hagrid's cottage, or with her father. Aly became a missing person among the Hogwarts students, and she was quite okay with that.


	35. A plan in action

Even with all of her hard work, Aly was still struggling with charms.

"I just don't get this," she announced, slamming down her book. The noise echoed through the empty common room and caused the only other occupants, the Marauders, to jump.

It was December now, and Aly still only came out of hiding for class and, now, very late at night. She had discovered that after a certain point in the evening, usually, only the Marauders were in the common room. They never asked why she suddenly reappeared. They just allowed it and occasionally conversed with her.

"Trouble?" James called over.

Aly let out a mumble, but none of them could hear what she actually said.

"Well, I'm turning in," James announced.

"Me too," Remus agreed. They stood and went upstairs; Peter in their wake.

Sirius remained. He continued to look at his opened book and notes spread out all over the table. He rocked back and forth on the hind legs of his chair. He twiddled his fingers together. Aly let out a mumble, and his eyes darted towards her.

Finally, Aly let out a loud growl of aggravation, and Sirius jumped up and, in one fluid motion, grabbed his charms book and was next to her. She started as he slide down next to her.

"Need help?'

"No," she snapped.

"Well, that's good. Too bad I feel the need to give it."

She just stared at him.

"Okay, I see," he said looking at the page she was open to.

XxXxX

"Where's Lily? She good at charms. Why doesn't she ever help you?"

Sirius had soon become a figure in Lily's normal chair. With him as her tutor, Aly's charms work kept coming back with better and better grades. He always helped her after all the other boys had gone to bed. Aly tried to ignore the fact that this bothered her.

She didn't turn as she answered his question. "She's with Dickory," Aly huffed as her face changed. She didn't bother to mention that Logan would probably come charging through the door if she asked Lily for help.

Sirius looked at her for second and then laughed, "That's a good one."

Aly smiled slightly.

"Alright, where are we?" he asked scanning her notes.

She pointed out the place and he said, "Ok, I think I know what's wrong. "It's the way you're waving the wand."

After they had finished the lesson, Aly had finally managed to send books dancing through the air and then back to their shelves, Sirius had sat back to relax on the couch. Aly leaned back as well on the other end.

"So, Lily and Dickory," he ventured.

Aly made an impatient noise as she sat with her eyes closed. It was very late. The other three Marauders had stayed up much later than usual.

"You don't really like him, do you?"

"Do you?" Aly asked.

"Not the point," he said smiling.

She sat and examined her hands. They were dried and cracking from the cold. She figured she'd have to ask for new gloves for Christmas. As she sat and caressed her chapped hands, Sirius suddenly asked, "What did your mom look like?"

Aly's head shot up and her brow furrowed. "Why?" It was such a strange question that came out of no where. She figured she'd never understand the way Sirius' mind worked.

"I was just wondering. I mean, you act a lot like you dad. Oh, don't look at me like that cause you know it's true. So, I was just curious to what your mom looked like."

"You've seen the angel," Aly pointed out. "What more do you need?"

He made an odd twitch, out what Aly assumed was annoyance of her putting of the question, and stood. "I'm going to go to bed."

"Fine," she said, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Oh, don't pout."

"I am not pouting!"

"Are too! Your lower lip is out and everything," he said.

She realized that he was right and quickly sucked in her lip.

He sat down, this time much closer to her, "What's wrong?"

She turned to look at him. She very much wanted to tell him not to pry and to mind his own business, but the look of concern on her face made her suddenly break open the dam of emotion that had been closed for over a month.

"I'm worried about Lily. Dickory is treating her just like Logan used to treat me. And he's completely stalking me. Any chance he gets, he pounces on me. I don't know what to do. And Lily's working with him so I can't even be in the tower without being afraid. And my dad thinks I'm crazy cause Logan's a 'good kid.' Pssh. Good kid, my ass. Look at this mark. How can a 'good kid' leave a mark that is still there after a month? Tell me that. All I want to do is go back to being normal. I want to be able to walk around the castle without being in fear. I just want my life back!" She was crying all over him without remembering how she got there.

"Calm down," he said into her hair as he slowly rocked her. "Take deep breathes for me."

He made her take in a few audible breathes, hold them, and then let them out. This did calm her down a bit.

She sniffled and wiped her nose with her finger as he said, cautiously, "So, you said, 'used'."

"Huh?"

"'Used.' Like in past tense."

Aly shrugged, "Yeah."

"You and Logan are broken up?"

Aly nodded and she felt his whole attitude change.

"And he's stalking you?!" He was suddenly animate and mad.

She looked at him, eyes wide.

"What?" he asked seeing her face.

"Where did this suddenly come from?" She felt a little bit frightened by him.

"I thought you were still with him so I was being careful around you. I didn't want to scare you off again," he explained. Aly smiled as this comment. "But now," Sirius said with a shake of his head, "Oh, now, it is on."

He stood. "Tomorrow, you come out of hiding. You will eat breakfast with us, and Logan will not bother you. Trust me. We will see to it."

He nodded once at her and started to leave.

"Where are you going?" Aly asked, confused.

"There's a plan in motion, Als," he said waving his hand. "Things must be put into motion."

With that, he was gone.

XxXxX

"Remus, make him stop," Aly pleaded.

She was eating with the Marauders the next morning. Sirius was marching back and forth on one side of the table. Peter was trying to keep pace on the other. James sat unhappily next to Remus, across from Aly.

"Ha. Don't you think I would if I could?" Remus asked.

Whatever Sirius was doing, besides making a fool out of himself, was working. Logan was glaring at them all from the Hufflepuff table next to Dickory and Lily. All of the school seemed to be aware of the break up between Logan and Aly. How Sirius managed to spread it through the night was beyond Aly's comprehension.

"Use that badge of yours!" Aly exclaimed, motioning to the Prefect badge on his chest.

"Never works," he told her with a sad shake of his head.

"Let me see that," Aly took it from him and chucked at Sirius' head. It hit him square in the forehead.

"Oww!"

Remus leaned over and picked up the badge. "I think that's the best it ever worked on him."

Sirius had leaned over Remus and was rubbing his head as he told them, "That was not necessary."

He went back to marching though.

"That's it," James announced, "I've had enough. When they get over this ridiculous project, let me know." He left pushing past a first year roughly as he went.

Aly watched him go, a sad look upon her face.

"You just rub him the wrong way, Aly. Not always, but when it comes to Sirius, you just do," Remus told her.

As Aly ate breakfast, she couldn't help but notice the attention Sirius still continued to get from the girls of the school.

"Still a ladies man, huh?" she offhandedly commented to Remus.

He didn't answer but sent her a very odd look.

The rest of her day went as smoothly as breakfast had (with much less marching).

The rest of the week followed the same pattern, but it wasn't like the coma she had experienced with Logan. The Marauders kept things interesting. They asked her what she wanted to do and valued her opinion. The only thing that irked her slightly was that Sirius insisted that he continue to help her with charms after the others had gone to bed.


	36. The Annual Ministry Ball

Sirius kept a watchful eye on Aly. She found him watching her even when she didn't need him to.

When he was MIA, Remus was there.

She also tried to give the boys some of the time without her. James seemed the most grateful, actually going out of his way to thank her.

Still, even with the Marauders always around, Aly felt lonely. She missed Lily.

One day, she wandered into Professor McGonagall's classroom before class. She was reading the upcoming chapter when she sensed a movement in the room. She looked up.

"Hey."

Sirius seemed to have followed her into the room. He hovered over her awkwardly.

"What's up?" she asked blandly.

"Well," he paused and wrung his hands.

"Yeah--" Aly edged him on.

"There's a ministry ball coming up, and my mom always makes me go, and I figured maybe it wouldn't be so boring this year if someone went with me."

Aly, who was puzzled, just stared at him.

He took a deep breathe and blurted out, "Willyougototheballwithme?"

The shocked look upon her face made Sirius' ears burn red. "It's okay if you don't want to…"

"Sure," Aly answered, finding her tongue.

"Oh," his body relaxed with relief. "You sure?"

"I'll go with you," she told him with a shrug.

"Great!" he beamed. "I'll get you the details when I have them." With that he left the room.

Aly sat there thinking about what she had just done. She had heard about this annual ball. Her father went every year. She had always purposely avoided it. In fact, she went out of her way to avoid it, and she had just consented to going. With Sirius, no less.

She could picture it now: her sitting by herself, bored, having to pretend to know people who remembered her when she yea-high while Sirius flirted and danced with all the different ministry brats.

She considered backing out all through Transfiguration. McGonagall even pulled her aside after class to make sure everything was okay. She had assured her that she was.

Aly decided to make a beeline for Remus after dinner though.

"Remus!" she called after him.

He stopped awkwardly. "Yea?"

She ran up to him, "You got a minute?"

He looked out the window wearily. Aly looked too. It was twilight. There must've been a full moon ready to rise.

"I'll make it quick," she pleaded.

He seemed to struggle then said, "Sure."

"Any idea why Sirius asked me to the ministry ball?"

This was obviously not what he expected, and his face showed it. He stood silently for a few moments, and Aly began to lose her patience.

"Time's a tickin'" she told him.

He shook his head, and said, "I dunno." He walked away quickly.

"You do to!" Aly followed him. "Please tell me." She grabbed his arm and held on tightly. "Is it a joke? Is he trying to play a terrible joke on me? Is it a bet? Did someone pay him to do it? My dad?"

"Aly!" Remus cut her off. "Did you ever stop to think that maybe, _just maybe_, he asked you because he wants you to go with him?"

Aly stood and looked at him and considered that.

"Do you realize what he's been going through this year? What he's done for you? His home life has been falling apart, and he still puts on a happy face for you when you need it. He swore off random girls. He makes sure that---"

"Whoa. Whoa. Whoa." Aly stopped him. "He what?"

Remus looked at her like he couldn't believe it was taking her this long to see all this.

"I have to go, Aly." He looked at her like he was disappointed in her.

She frowned and watched him disappear down the hall.

XxXxX

The day of the ball Sirius took her to his parents house. Aly had decided to go into the ball with an open mind, especially after what Remus had told her. They arrived at the empty house.

"This way," Sirius said, guiding her upstairs.

Aly looked around, mesmerized. "Wow," she breathed as she examined all the intricate snake decorations throughout the house.

"Uh," he stopped between two doors. "Give me one minute," he said and disappeared into a room before Aly could say anything. He reappeared within seconds holding a lump of cloth.

"You can change in my room. I'll just be across the hall."

She smiled and walked into the room he had just vacated. She looked around amazed by the sight she saw. It was messy, but not too messy. It obviously hadn't been lived in for a while. There were posters of bikini clad muggles on the wall as well as the many different types of Gryffindor paraphernalia. She took off her travel clothes and realized, for a second, that she was almost naked in Sirius' room. She blushed at she quickly pulled on her dress robes. With a flick of her wand, her hair was up in a elegant half bun with the rest of her hair cascading into her natural curls below it. She stepped out of Sirius' room found herself face to face with him on the landing.

He cleared his throat as he looked at her.

"What?" Aly asked looking down at her sparkly robe.

"You look--uh--mph, very nice."

"Thank you," Aly answered sincerely.

"Ready?" he asked.

"Are you?" she asked, one eyebrow up.

"Yeah. Why? What's wrong?" he asked trying to look himself up and down.

"Hold still," Aly ordered him. After a few moments of steam pressing Sirius' wrinkled robes with her wand, they were ready to go.

They arrived at the ballroom, and Aly let out a low sound of amazement. The room was gold everywhere: the walls, the ceiling, the floor. It glowed beautifully in the soft light of the hundreds of candles that magically floated in the air. Sirius chuckled. "Ready to make our grand entrance?"

"Grand entrance?" Aly asked startled.

"Yep. Everyone gets announced. It takes up like half of the ball." He looked at the fearful expression on her face. "It'll be okay. Promise."

He lead her along the way to the doorway into the ballroom. He handed her her name card for the announcer and moved forward. Aly leaned down to adjust her shoe strap. She didn't want her grand entrance to include falling down the stairs. She heard the announcer call out, "Introducing Mr. Sirius Orion Black."

Aly ran through the double doors and handed him the slip, "And Miss Alyson Patricia Dumbledore."

Aly looped her hand through the crook in Sirius' elbow, and he lead her down the stairs. "Thought I lost you," he whispered.

Aly heard the buzzing start immediately. She looked around and realized that the buzz was for her and Sirius. Little did she realize, that as the lights from the room hit her silver robe, she lit up like the angel that sat upon her christmas tree back at school.

She looked at Sirius, who looked back at her and wiggled his eyebrows. They were swarmed by people as the reached the bottom stair. "Alyson Dumbledore!" "Oh, it is so good to see you." "What a cute couple!" "Beautiful." "Imagine the children!"

Aly felt the blush rise throughout her face. Sirius placed his hand over the one of hers that was now clutching his elbow tightly. He steered her through the crowd and eventually managed to pull her out to the side.

"Sit," he said pulling out a chair.

"Thank you," Aly breathed. She felt lightheaded and mortified. Never in her life had so many people wanted to talk to her, to touch her, to be near her.

Sirius disappeared from her side. _Benefit of the doubt. Benefit of the doubt_, Aly reminded herself over and over again. She sighed loudly 10 minutes later when she was still alone. Well, Remus was wrong about one thing. She got up, ready to go find a way back to school, when she felt a hand on her lower back.

"Leaving?"

She turned to face the person. "You're back?"

"Of course." Sirius looked hurt that she'd ask that. "I got drinks." He motioned to the cups he had placed on the table.

Aly's mouth formed an "O" shape.

"You thought I'd bring you and then ditch you?"

Aly sighed and bit her lip.

"It's ok," he said with a shrug, "I've earned that."

"No--"

"It's ok. Really."

"No, Sirius, it's not."

"Really, it is."

The argument would've continued had an older woman not appeared and pulled Sirius into a hug. "Hey, Mrs. Potter," Aly head him say through the old woman's hold.

"And who is this?" she asked turning her attention to Aly. She had a sweet voice, the kind Aly would always put with her mother when her dad told her stories about her.

"This is Aly," Sirius told her, straightening out his robes.

"Oh, look at how beautiful you are. That robe is just lovely on you," Mrs. Potter said, pulling her into a tight hug.

Aly was taken completely off guard. She had never received a real mom hug before from anyone other than Mrs. Evans. She felt tears fill her eyes as any unknown emotion filled her. She quickly wiped her eyes.

"Oh, you two are so cute. Look at that. Stand next to each other." She pushed Sirius next to Aly. They stood uncomfortable next to each other being examined, "Oh, Iris is wrong," she commented to the older looking mad behind her. His hazel eyes sparkled as he scanned the pair. They were identical to James'. "The babies would have brown eyes. I do hope they get her curls."

Aly blushed, and she saw that Sirius' ears lit up red as well. He moved around and faced her, "Wanna dance?"

"Yes, please," she answered in a small voice.

He grabbed her by the hand and pulled her out onto the dance floor. Aly was caught by surprised yet again as Sirius moved her gracefully around. "Where did you learn to dance?" she asked in awe.

He smiled at her and said almost bitterly, "I told you I have to come to these things every year." He lightened his tone as he went on, "And no one is allowed to sit. Everyone in this room will have danced by the end of the night. Even your dad."

Aly laughed, trying to picture her dad dancing, They moved off the dance floor when a slow song came on. Well, Sirius pulled her off the floor. They were instantly mobbed by old women. All of them wanted the two of them to stand next to each other just like Mrs. Potter did. As soon as the song tempo changed, he pulled her back out to dance. They spent most of the evening this way. Every slow song meant that old busy-bodies would get their chance to comment on their future children, arguing which features they'd get and from who.

Aly made a move to the sidelines when a slow song came on, but Sirius held onto her and pulled her close. Her breathe caught in her throat in surprise. "You don't want to hear more about our children?" she asked.

He held her close, his hand in the middle of her back, keeping her very close. He kept his chin over her shoulder, and Aly turned her head up to look at him. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," he said shortly.

She said nothing else. He suddenly looked down at her and said, "Sorry."

"Bout what?"

"All these people. I didn't realize what an uproar it would cause bringing you."

Aly shrugged. "It happens."

He smiled a sad smile.

"Seriously, Sirius."

He laughed, but his laugh was cut short.

"May I cut in?"

Aly's heart froze in terror. The hand she had on Sirius tightened.

Logan was standing behind her looking at Sirius.

"No," Sirius said glaring at him.

Aly pulled herself all the way to him, putting her cheek on his chest. She closed her eyes and waited for it all to end. Her ears buzzed from all the blood rushing to them. She could hear herself breathing from inside her head.

"Als," she heard Sirius whisper to her.

She looked up at him.

"He's gone."

She felt her chest loosen. "How'd you get rid of him?"

"Mrs. Clearwinter came up and insisted her dance with her."

She felt the fear in her heart rise again. "Don't worry," he said into her hair. "He won't bother you again."

She thought she felt him kiss her hair, but she wasn't sure.

The music picked up, and he pulled her back to where their drinks had been. "Looks like the house elves have been here," he explained were the cups had disappeared to. "I'll go get us more."

He started to leave, but she made a desperate grab at him, "Don't." She was still shaken by the appearance of the Logan.

He looked back at the pathetic figure she knew she must make. "Please," she pleaded.

"Okay." He came and sat down next to her. They watched people dance for a while. Their novelty seemed to have worn off, but Sirius assured her that it was because the champagne was always brought out after all of the entrances had been made. "Never before everyone has to walk down the stairs. Imagine all the petticoats that would go flying." She giggled at his comment.

James found them. "Hey," he said sitting down at their table.

"Hey," Sirius said not taking his eyes of the scene before him. A drunk old woman had taken ahold of one the young boys, a Slytherin Aly recognized. She was dancing with him, his face being pushed into her large, sagging bosom. He apparently couldn't breathe. His face was turning purple and every time he managed to pull away for air, she pulled him back in. Sirius was keeping track of how long he was going without being able to breath.

Aly turned to greet James. "Enjoying the dance?" she asked.

James glanced at Sirius and then at her.

"We aren't here together," Aly quickly told him.

Sirius' eyes left the smothered Slytherin, but his body didn't move.

"We are here together," Aly corrected herself. "Just not together-together."

James' eyes caught Sirius'. Aly saw Sirius' barely nod.

"That's cool," James said, smiling at her. Aly thought it looked a little too forced.

As they sat, the two boys filled Aly in on the misconduct of the year before, pointing out the culprits as they passed.

Suddenly, Mrs. Potter reappeared. "Oh, Jamesie, you found them. Good!"

James rolled his eyes. "Mom, really?"

She came over to him and using her spit tried to flatten his hair. "Mooo-oomm! Stop!" James whined. Aly smiled at the intimate scene. She felt her heart squeeze and realize quickly that she was jealous of James.

"You kids having fun?" she asked as she continued to work on James' stubborn hair.

"Yep," Sirius said, grinning largely at James. James scowled back.

"And you Aly, Enjoying the ball?"

"It's wonderful," she beamed.

"Good. Good." Mrs. Potter had given up on James' hair and came over to her. She put her hand on her shoulder and leaned down as if to whisper, but what she said was loud enough for the two boys to hear. "You know you've been hogging the best dancer, right? Sirius normally give all of us old hens a thrill. We aren't used to having to share." She winked at her and stood.

"I'll leave you be. I would advise that you take Aly out on the floor, Sirius. I hear Lilac Limenstien is on her way over to steal you away. And you know, she won't give you back." Mrs. Potter left with a swish of purple robes.

"I love your mom," Aly told James.

James made a face and opened his mouth, but, before he could speak, Sirius was pulling her up and onto the floor.

Sure enough, mere moments later, a scary looking woman came up to them.

"Aw shucks. I wanted a chance," she said staring greedily at Sirius. "Maybe next dance?" She fluttered her glued on eye lashes at him.

"Sorry," Aly said in a sugar sweet voice, "He's mine for the night."

The woman stared Aly up and down and apparently decided that she was too much competition. She left with a "humph," pinching Sirius' butt as she went.

"Thanks," he mumbled, rubbing his tush.

"I owed you one."

"If you're talking about Logan, no, you didn't. That's not a save. It's a right to be left alone by psycho former boyfriends. He best leave you alone." His face had turned dark.

She wanted to argue with him, tell him that Logan wasn't crazy. She just hadn't ended it right. She didn't though. She wanted to lift his spirit, not argue with him.

"So, where's this champagne you spoke of?"

He raised his eyebrows at her. She moved hers in response. "Right this way, my lady."


	37. After the Ball

Aly woke up feeling like she had been hit by a truck. She rubbed her face as she tried to get her bearings. She looked around feeling completely dazed. The room she was in looked just like her room, but she was in the wrong bed. She rolled over to get a better scope of things and rolled into something that let out a "ohf."

She gasped and sat up quickly. She had to catch her head and laid back down, slowly, whimpering. Sirius pulled the pillow that was over his head down and looked at her.

"Ohmygod, ohmygod, ohmygod," Aly began to mutter under her breathe. She turned her head to see Sirius' sleepily staring at her. "What am I doing here?"

"You fell asleep here," he told her, stretching.

He sat up and Aly realized that he was shirtless.

"Oh my god," she moaned.

He disappeared from the bed. Aly tried to remember what had happened the night before that would have caused her night to end in bed with a shirtless Sirius.

He pulled the curtain on her side of the bed that was open only half way back the full extent. She looked at him and forced herself to not look down and see if he was more than half naked. He held out his hand.

"Sit up," he said roughly. He was obviously not feeling much better than Aly did. "Come'on. Sit up."

She pulled herself up but had to lean her head forward to rest on her knees.

"Take this," he ordered.

She ignored him, trying to wish the throbbing in her head away.

He nudged her head with his knuckle. "Come'on."

When she didn't move, he took her by the neck and forced her head back. She sat there looking up at him confused and dizzy. "Open your mouth." When she didn't, he told her, "I can't do everything. Open your mouth up now."

She did and he dropped something into it and poured the water from the glass he was holding down her throat after it. She gagged and coughed as he let too much go down.

He put the half empty glass next to her and gently hit her back to help her breath. Then he started to make his way around the bed to lay down on his side.

Aly continued to cough quietly. "God, act more like Logan, why don't'cha."

He stopped before getting the bed and glared. "If I was Logan, you'd have more to complain about than just your head."

He got in the bed and roughly tore the blanket from her and wrapped himself up.

She laid back down, trying to think. They laid silently for a while, and Aly could literally feel the anger radiating off of her bed mate. No, off of the guy in bed with her. No, no, no. Nothing about the situation sounded right in her head.

"What do you mean?" she finally asked. "What else would hurt me?"

He said nothing.

"Sirius, tell me." She pushed his back with her elbow. "Please."

He still remained silent. She pushed him onto his back with some struggle and straddled his cocooned body. "Please. Purty please."

"No," he said harshly.

With that, everything hit her. Parts of the night replayed vividly in her mind.

They had stolen 2 bottles of champagne to begin with. Then two more showed up somehow. One way or another, Sirius had gotten them back to school. He had tried to take her up to her bed but one of the old spells made it so that the stairs wouldn't allow it. So, they had collapsed onto his bed instead. She remembered giggling. Lots and lots of giggling. Someone had boughten up their first kiss. Which lead to her asking him if it was still the same. He told her he didn't know and that they could try it out. But what had happened after that? She could only guess.

She closed her eyes in shame. She got off of him slowly and realized that she was wearing one of his t-shirts. How had she ended up in his clothes? More importantly, how did she end up out of her own? She began to search for her clothes. She couldn't stand up completely straight due to the hang over and her eyes kept filling with tears and she didn't know why.

She heard the bed springs creak, but kept throwing clothes around in search of one of her shoes. She felt a hand on her elbow and shrugged it off. She found her robes and pulled the shirt off quickly, not caring. What did it matter at this point anyways? She pulled her robes over her head and ran out of the room. Somehow, she would never be able to recall how, she found her own bed and collapsed onto it crying.

XxXxX

"Good evening, Mr. Black," Professor Dumbledore addressed the lone boy in the Gryffindor common room.

"Good evening, sir," he replied lamely.

Dumbledore stood and studied him for a moment. He hadn't seen his daughter since the dance and knew that the last person with her had been the boy reading on the couch. "Where's Aly?" he asked.

Sirius turned to look at the Headmaster. Normally, seeing him the common room would have seemed odd, but today Sirius didn't show any surprise. He blinked a few times and then motioned towards the staircase that led to the girls dormitory with his head.

Dumbledore started towards it and stopped when he saw the tray of food laying at the foot of the stairs.

He looked at Sirius, who was facing the other direction. He shook his head and made his way up the staircase. Aly was sitting on her bed writing. "Alyson," Dumbledore said to announce his presence. She didn't look but gave him a small, "Hey."

The Headmaster looked around the room he stood in. The room had books and papers strewn all over it. It looked like a tornado had moved through the place. In the corner, there was a balled up silver robe. "Why didn't you come down for dinner?"

Aly mumbled something about not being hungry and continued to scribble.

"But it's Christmas."

Her head shot up.

"It is?" her forehead wrinkled in confusion.

"Yes it is," Dumbledore said taking a step forward.

"I'm sorry," Aly said sincerely. She slowly got out of bed. "Your present is under the tree downstairs."

"That's not why I'm here Aly," he said.

"I'll go get it," Aly told him, either not hearing or not caring about what he had to say.

He nodded and followed her as she hurried down the stairs. She simply jumped over the food without paying attention to it and dug through all the gifts that were still sitting under the tree to find his.

Sirius jumped up at the sight of her. "Aly," he said.

Aly brushed past him and handed the gift to her father. "Merry Christmas," she said and kissed him on the cheek.

She made an attempt to return to her room as Sirius called to her, "Don't go back up there. You've been locked away for four days."

Before Aly knew it, her dad had pulled out his wand and had her held in place. Dumbledore looked at Sirius and hesitated before he finally said, "She'll be like that for about a minute. Don't waste her time." With that the Headmaster left, holding his gift tenderly.

Sirius made a mental note to thank him later. "Aly," he came over to stand in front of her. "I'm gonna make this quick. I'm sorry. So, so sorry. I never meant to make you mad at me. I shouldn't have let it go as far as it did. I just want us to go back to being friends. Whatever it is that I need to do to fix this, I will do. Just tell me."

Aly fought against the spell. Once it lifted, she started to fall to the floor, but he caught her. "Tell me what to do," he pleaded.

She merely allowed him to stand her up. "Aly, please."

She took a deep breathe. "You think I'm mad at you?"

"Yes. I'm sorry. I never meant for it to lead to this. Please forgive me."

"Forgive you? This is as much as my fault as yours," she told him.

"How? I got the champagne. I let you keep drinking it after I knew I should stop you. I'm the one who told you to kiss me. I'm the one who stopped it. I'm the---"

"Stopped it?" Aly looked at him, bewildered.

"Yeah," he took hold of her wrist as she started to sway, "Don't you remember?"

"You swear?"

"Yes. I swear. I stopped it. We didn't have se---"

"Don't say that word!" Aly yelped, but turned her eyes up at him and smiled gleefully. "Thank god!" she exclaimed jumping into his arms.

She laughed and started to cry out of relief.

He held her tightly and swung her around.

He put her down and asked her, "Is that what was wrong? You were upset because you thought we… did that?"

She blushed.

"Aly," he vocally edged her to explain.

"Yeah, it was. I didn't want to just be another drunken night for you."

"You would never be that to me," he promised. Aly could tell her meant it and squirmed a little under his stare.

She happily went and sat on the couch where Sirius had been. "Why are there still so many presents? They can't all be for me."

He sat under the tree he had whined about again this year. "I wanted to wait for you," he said holding a gift out to her.

She smiled gratefully at the boy before tearing the gift open.

XxXxX

Lily arrived back at school at the beginning of January with some sad news. Her mom's cancer was back. Aly spent the first night with her as Lily cried on her shoulder. The second night after break, it was Aly's turn to vent her frustration about the situation, this time to Sirius.

"This majorly sucks" was mostly what he got out of her.

Aly was convinced that this year was bound to be better than the last. She was friends with Marauders again, even James seemed to warming up to her; she was doing great in all of her classes even charms, thanks to her tutor; and Logan seemed to be leaving her alone. But she had received a Christmas gift from him. She expected it to be some sort of trick to talk to her. So she took James and Remus with her when she went to return it to him (since she worried what Sirius might do in close proximity to him).

"Umph," Aly cleared her throat.

He turned and greeted her with a smile. It quickly turned to a frown when he saw who accompanied her. "Hey, Aly," he said staring at the boys.

"Here." She held out the small box.

"What's that?" he asked still not looking at her or the gift in her hand.

"It's the gift you gave me for Christmas," she said, annoyed. She didn't want to play his games.

"That's yours. What am I suppose to do with it?" he asked bitterly, finally looking at her.

"Just take it back please."

"No," he said. "It was for you. I don't want it back."

Aly felt her irritation building.

Behind her she heard a crack followed by a sound of pain. She turned in time to see James sending a spell at Snape. Snape had apparently found them and, with James distracted, decided to take advantage of the situation.

"Enough!" Logan snapped. "10 points from Gryffindor!"

"What?!" James yelled as Aly watched Snape make a hasty escape.

"Sending spells at people in corridors is a direct violation of the rules," Logan exclaimed. He puffed out his chest as he said this to make his badge more prominent.

"Just cause you have some stupid badge on you ches—" Thankfully, Remus cut him of by throwing his hand over his mouth.

Aly shoved the gift box into Logan's chest and shook her head at him before following after Remus who was dragging James.

"You're much better off without that guy, Aly. Honestly, what a prick," James said before throwing himself into a chair. Sirius was sitting in the common room, waiting for their return. He asked, "What happened?"

"Snape got me," James murmured. "Then Captain Moron took 10 points off of me for defending myself!" he throw his arms up in the air for an added affect.

"Get the thing back to Logan?" Sirius asked Aly.

"Yea," Aly said, trying to see what Sirius had been reading when they walked in. He noticed her eyes and closed the book and quickly asked, "What did he get you anyways?"

"What?"Aly was still trying to figure out what the book was based on the binding. It wasn't in English.

"What did Logan give you for Christmas?" he asked again.

"Nothing really," Aly said turning to head back out to the library.

"Probably some crappy gift like a book or something," she heard James comment.

"No. Too small for a book," Sirius replied. She could tell he was thinking by the tone of his voice.

"Doesn't really matter though, does it?" James asked. "She gave it back."

"Yeah," Sirius said brusquely.

It bothered Sirius that Logan had given her a gift in the first place. Apparently, it was still bothering him. A smile fluttered across her face as Aly heard the portrait door shut behind her.


	38. Close calls

Aly was seeing less and less of Lily as January wore on. And when she did see her, Lily was very distant and sharp with her. Aly knew that Lily had taken her break up with Logan hard, but she grew tired of Lily's attitude. She was 15, and, as far as she was concerned, she was entitled to have as many different boyfriends as she wanted.

With class work, they had moved onto to the Impedimenta charm, and she was having a very hard time with it. In transfiguration, she had successfully turned James into a pigeon, but she couldn't master the art of slowing down objects. She promised to show Sirius how she changed James if he spent extra time working on charm with her.

They sat in a corner of the common room as Aly attempted to slow Sirius down. "This isn't working," Aly whined, shaking her wand madly.

Sirius ducked from the sparks her shaking sent out of it. "I don't think I'm motivating you enough."

"Motivating me?"

"You have to want to stop me," Sirius explained, looking around the room.

"You don't think I want to be able to do this stupid charm?" Aly asked incredulously. "I'm trying my hardest here."

"I know. I know," he said trying to calm her down. "I know you want to be able to do the charm, but you have to want to stop me. There's a difference." He was still looking around the room, and suddenly whispered, "Excellent."

Aly looked off where Sirius' eye sight was pointed. Two people had just vacated the couch in front of the fireplace.

"Come'on," he said moving over to it

Aly groaned loudly. It was late, very late, and they had to get up for class the next morning.

"You want to learn or not?" he said jumping onto the couch.

She stomped over and slunk down next to him. He had used the Accio charm to deliver something to himself.

Aly looked at it and realized at once that it belong to her. "What are you doing with that?" she growled making a move for it.

He held it out of her grasp and jumped up. Her flipped open the leather bound book and pulled something out of it. He held it up in the air.

"Want it?"

"Sirius…" she warned in stern tone.

"Then you gotta save it," He threw the square paper into the fire. It curled as the flames licked at it.

Aly let out a very loud gasp of horror and felt tears fill her eyes. Those were the only pictures she had of her mom. They were one of her most prized possessions, and the boy in front of her was throwing them into the fire.

"Come'on, Aly," Sirius said, edging her on. "You can do this. Save the picture." He held one up for her to see. It was one of her favorites. It was the only picture she had of her and her mom, she was still in her stomach at the time.

He pulled his wrist back to flick the photo into the flames, and Aly jumped up. She pointed her wand at it and yelled, "Impedimenta!" The picture froze midair and came whizzing back at her. She cradled it to her chest once she had it and glared at Sirius.

He was laughing. She found nothing funny about this situation and pointed her wand at him, ready to strike. He walked over to her quickly and grabbed her wrist.

"Calm down, Als," he said sitting her down on the couch. "I wasn't about to let it burn. I had my wand ready." She felt slightly better about this, but was still angry at him. "I think you may have woken the whole tower with the charm, but at least you finally got it. I told you, it's all about the motivation.

"Here," he handed her her photo album, and she placed the picture back into it. She stared down at her mom and smiled. "You do look like her," he told her. "I knew you had to."

She nodded and told him, "Everything but the eyes."

"She's beautiful," Sirius told her in a small voice. She realized that he was, by extension, calling her beautiful and closed the book and turned to look at him. Her cheeks were glowing bright red. He was staring at her, and they held their glance. He started to move in towards her. She felt her body stiffen in anticipation. What was going on? she thought, her mind racing.

Instead of feeling his lips upon hers, she felt his hard head hit hers. "AH!" she gasped and grabbed the spot he had hit.

"What are you guys doing?" James asked. He had apparently come downstairs without too much of Aly's notice. He was studying them with great scrutiny.

"Staring contest," Sirius said quickly. "Which I just lost. Thanks." He jumped up and over the couch. "What's up?"

"I heard Aly yell and then it got quiet. I was worried she took you out," he sent a joking smile at her.

She tried to smile back. She hoped it looked convincing. Her mind was still reeling from what was happening a moment before.

"Nope. She challenged me. You know how that goes…"

James laughed. "Ohh yeah."

"I'll be up in a sec," Sirius told him, motioning for him to head upstairs.

"Fine," James said, his mood changing. He seemed reluctant to leave them alone. "Good night, Aly," he said almost meanly.

"Night," she mumbled, her eyes fluttering quickly as she was still thinking.

He left, and Sirius turned to Aly. "Are you okay?" he asked touching her head where he hit it.

"I'm fine," she gulped.

"You sure?" He didn't seem to just be talking about her head.

She nodded, "I'm good." She didn't meet his eyes though.

He reached out, hesitated, and then touched her cheek briefly. He made his way towards to stairs.

Without being able to help herself, Aly blurted out one of things that had been on her mind, "You gave up random girls."

He stopped, one foot on the bottom stair. He didn't move, but asked, "Why do you say that?"

"Remus told me," she said meekly, embarrassed by her outburst.

She saw him nod and then continue up the stairs.

She fell onto the couch and sat there thinking until the fire's flames died out.

XxXxX

Aly's days were fairly normal following that night. Sirius acted as if nothing had happened, and they continued on with her studying like any other day. She had finally managed to master the charm without photos and fire.

She sensed some tension in the Marauder circle, but was hesitant about mentioning anything about it. They were assigned a new charm to work on in extension to the Impedimenta charm. Since they now knew how to pull nonmoving objects to them as well as moving ones, they were now trying to simply freeze moving objects. Aly was looking forward to learning this charm since she only knew how to do the spell that froze things, and it wasn't nearly as affective. Sirius was trying to help her the best he could, but she kept getting frustrated and quitting earlier and earlier.

"Is Remus mad at me?" she asked Sirius one night.

"No. Why?" He looked confused. His locks of hair that always gracefully fell onto his forehead had fallen out of place, and, instinctually, Aly reached up and flicked them out of his eyes. She felt charged by the touch and cleared her throat and said calmly, "He seems distant from me lately."

He shook his head and said nothing more on it. He moved away from her so that they could try the charm again. "Is it cause I told you what he told me?" she ventured.

Sirius merely looked at her.

"I shouldn't've said anything," Aly said to herself out loud. She hit herself on the head and exclaimed, "Stupid, stupid, stupid."

"Hey now," Sirius was next to her quickly, grabbing her wrist. "Stop that," he said sternly. "You're not stupid. He'll get over it. He told you something. You told me. It's not the end of the world. Everything is fine."

Aly puffed out her lips in disbelief.

"None of that," he said pushing them back in with his finger.

Aly's heart skipped a beat at this touch. For all their normalcy around one another, they had been very carefully around one another, careful not to touch. This sent her heart into a flurry once he pulled away. She was suddenly aware of his closeness in proximity.

He cleared his throat and made to move, but Aly grabbed him by the front of his shirt. If she could've looked up, she would've seen how shocked he looked. As it was, she couldn't meet his eyes. She was breathing heavy and staring at her fists, his shirt clenched in them.

He put his finger under her chin and pulled her face up to look at him.

Aly bit down on her lower lip.

"Don't worry," he told her moving his face closer.

She opened her mouth to ask what he meant, but he stopped her. "You bit your lip when you're worried," he explained.

She closed her mouth and smiled. He ran his index finger across her lip. He was so much taller than she remembered. He had to bend his neck to look down at her as their eyes were still locked. As he moved even closer, Aly closed her eyes and breathed in his scent. She felt his loose strands of hair brush her forehead as their noses grazed.

The portrait hole slammed open with a bang. Aly and Sirius jumped apart and laughter filled the room. Lily came stumbling in and tripped over something and fell to the floor.

Aly stood paralyzed. Sirius saw her face and moved to face Amos who had walked into the common room. "Leave, Dickory," he ordered.

Amos looked at him and moved towards Lily. She was still laughing on the floor. "Why'd you fall down, Amos?"

He tried to help her up, but she merely rolled over onto her stomach.

"I said, 'Leave," Sirius growled.

Amos ignored him and knelt down by Lily.

Aly finally moved and came over to Sirius, "Let them be," she whispered, pulling gently on his sleeve.

Sirius didn't move. "Please," Aly urged.

With a heavy sigh, he followed her towards the stairs.

"Good job tonight," he told her in a sad voice.

"Not really," Aly murmured.

She headed up the stairs to her bed and Sirius to his. As she turned the bend in the stairwell, she heard Lily retch.

XxXxX

"Can I talk to you?"

Aly turned to look at a wet Lily. She had just gotten out of the shower and her hair lay wet on her shoulders. Her face looked slacken.

Aly shrugged at her, and Lily whispered, "How bad was I last night?"

Aly put down her book that she was packing for class and turned to look at her. "Bad." she said flatly. "Why would you do something so stupid? Getting drunk and then walking around the school. You're a prefect!" Aly wasn't really upset by her possibly tarnishing her prefect standing, but it was a good excuse.

Lily stared at her hands. When she looked up it was with tortured eyes, "He said it would make it hurt less."

"Make what--" Aly asked then figured it out. "Oh," she took a step back. They had had sex. Amos had given her the alcohol to make it so she wouldn't feel the pain Aly had heard most girls talk about. She looked at Lily. She seemed different to her all of a sudden.

"He lied," Lily continued with a small ironic smile. "It still hurt. It still hurts."

Aly stiffened. "He hurt you?"

Lily shrugged. "It was his first time too."

"That's not an excuse," Aly snapped.

Lily's eyes filled with tears. Aly moved to her and pulled her into a hug. "Go to the nurse, Lils."

Lily shook her head.

"If you still hurt maybe he did some sort of damage," Aly told her.

Lily considered this, and after wiping her face with her sleeve, agreed to go.

She dressed in the baggiest clothes she could find. Aly looked at her oddly, but said nothing. Once they made it to the common room, Lily looked at her and said, "I'm going to go alone."

"Are you sure?" Aly asked, thrown off by this decision.

"This is something I need to do alone," Lily said, squaring her wet shoulders.

Once the portrait door clicked behind her, Aly dropped her bag and slackened her stance.

"What's wrong?" James asked.

Aly sent him a sideways glance and sighed. She couldn't vent about this. She couldn't say a word, to any of them.

"He hurt her, didn't he?" Sirius said in a small voice.

Aly's head shot over to look at him.

"He did," Sirius said to himself. He slammed him fist down on the table, "Dammit."

Aly and the three other boys jumped.

Sirius ran his fingers through his hair and jumped up. He came up to Aly and stared down at her, "I'm sorry," he told, taking hold of her elbows. "I should've punched him in the face when I had the chance."

"You still can," Aly supplied

He smiled slightly and said, "But not without witnesses."

"What is going on?" Remus asked.

"Yeah. Explain." James looked like he had bitten into a lemon.

"You tell them," Aly told Sirius, looking at her feet.

"Amos hurt Lily last night."

James stood up, forcing his chair back, making it topple over. He stood staring at Aly, breathing so loudly that Aly could hear him from where she stood. "How?" he asked through clenched teeth.

Sirius simply looked at him and made popping noise with his mouth.

James turned completely red and shouted, "I'll kill him!"

"NO!" Aly yelled as he started for the door. Remus grabbed ahold of him and Sirius did as well. "As much as I want to as well, we can't just make a commotion about this. You aren't even suppose to know!"

She turned to her eyes to Sirius, "Speaking of which, how does he know? All you did was pop your tongue."

Sirius' ears went red and, after a look at him, Remus answered the question, "Her first time having sex right?"

Aly felt queazy at the question, but nodded.

"He popped her cherry."

"What?! Eww! That is so gross," Aly exclaimed.

Remus shrugged.

"Here's what's going to happen," she announced to them all, "I am going to make sure Lily is okay. I am going to talk to her about this. And no one, and that means **no one**," she glared at James, "Is gonna talk, act, or even think anything having to do with this til I get everything sorted out. Okay?"

James bit his cheek. "Riiight?" Aly pressed.

"Yes," they all agreed, James a little slower than the other three.

"Good." She picked up her bag and slung it onto her shoulder. "I will give you a full report when I get back."

She headed to the hospital wing only to find it lacking in any sign of Lily. Aly turned and made her way to the Great Hall. There was a good chance she had gone in search of either food or Amos.

She reached the grand staircase and saw Logan standing there talking to Amos.

"Where's Lily?" she asked Amos sharply.

He looked at her like he didn't know her.

"Tell me know," she ordered. He turned to leave, and she smacked him on the arm.

He just kept walking down the stairs.

She felt a hand on her arm and turned quickly to face Logan. "Don't touch me."

"What is wrong with you?" Logan asked, concerned.

"Do you know what he did to Lily?" Aly snapped.

"Yeah," he looked confused.

"He got her drunk so he could have sex with her," Aly whispered harshly.

"So? It was a nice thing to do," Logan said.

Aly's eyes bugged out of her head. "Are you kidding me?"

"Come'on, Aly. It's not that big of a deal. Stop being a prude."

Aly felt her face fill with blood. "I am _not_ a prude. I care about my friend. That _does_ _not _make me a prude."

"Aly, Really? I know what you do and don't do when it comes to this," he smile slightly at her.

Aly felt like smacking him. Instead, she hit him below the belt by saying, "No. You only know what I will and won't do with you."

Logan's lower lip disappeared. He took hold of Aly's arm and put his face right in hers. "Who?"

"What?" Aly was more confused than scared.

"Who did you --- with?" His grip got tighter.

"Let go of me," Aly ordered.

He shook her. "Tell me. NOW!" He spit on her face as he yelled.

"I'm not your property," Aly said slashing him across the eyes with her nails. He gasped in pain and pushed her away from him with all the force he had.

She tumbled backwards down the stairs, hitting her head, feeling her ribs crack. Her bag smashed into her back, the books splicing her skin.

She heard a commotion as she dizzily stopped. She heard her name being called. And then she felt nothing.

XxXxX

So, there's that one. Just figured I'd let yall know that it's gonna be about a week til I get the next chapter up. I've got finals coming up. So stay tuned . . . =]


	39. In the Hospital Wing

Caught within a flurry of colors, spinning, falling, pain. Moving in out of the unknown. Reaching light and feeling sharp shots. Retreating back into the depths of nothingness.

How many times she move in and out, Aly didn't know. Each time she found the light, things became more and more pronounced. Something touching her, something or someone making noise, a cold hand, someone talking. Whether it was day or night, mattered little to her. The more she could recognize, the more pain she felt. The more pain she felt, the quicker she fell back to unconsciousness.

XxXxX

Aly had many very real dreams, so vivid they could have been real. One dream had her dad in it, standing at the foot of her bed. McGonagall was there too.

"Never thought I'd have to see this again," Dumbledore told McGonagall sounding defeated.

"I never really realized just how much she looked like Patricia," McGonagall commented.

With a sigh, Dumbledore agreed. "Patricia would be so heart broken. Why didn't I keep this from happening to her? I couldn't save Patricia, but Aly, Aly I could've protected."

"This is not your fault," McGonagall pressed. "It was an accident. It could've happened to anyone."

"But it didn't happen to just anyone."

The other dream she remembered involved McGonagall, plus the addition of Sirius and Logan.

The two boys were arguing loudly. "This was not an accident!" Sirius yelled. "You've left so many marks on Aly it isn't even funny."

"That is not true!" Logan bellowed back. "If I did leave any marks it was out of clumsiness and nothing else."

"You are such a liar!" Sirius barked.

"Enough from the both of you," McGonagall snapped. "We will just have to look into this further. Until then, both of you are banned from this hospital wing."

"What?!"

"No!"

"Leave. Now," McGonagall had ordered.

The most vivid of Aly's dreams involved her actually outside of the hospital wing. She dreamed that she had gotten up out of bed, moved through the quiet castle, and found her way into Sirius' bed. He had been shocked to see her at first, but gratefully wrapped his arms around her and let her drift off to sleep.

She had finally found the light the morning after that dream. She opened her eyes and sunshine hit them. She blinked into it but did not close her eyes. It felt nice and warm on her face. She looked over to the front of the hospital wing and saw all her past dream visitors arguing with one another. Lily was also there and all the attention seemed to be on her.

"Lily, tell them about all the terrible things Sirius has said and done to Aly over the years," Logan egged her on.

Lily stood looking terrified.

"Tell them about the bruises she suddenly kept getting when she started dating Logan," Sirius pushed.

"Enough," Dumbledore stated. He was pinching between the bridge of his nose. "Miss Evans, could you please provide any information you know about either of these two boys that would make them a suspect in this situation."

"I,I,I,I, I don't know," Lily shook her head violently. "I know that, uh, one time, last year, Aly was bleeding and she told me Sirius had done it." She lowered her head.

"See!" Logan exclaimed.

"Hang on," Sirius said calmly. "When was this?"

"I don't remember," Lily mumbled.

"It's okay," Sirius told her gently touching her shoulder. "Just think."

Lily's face crunched up in concentration. "It was cold. So, November, I think."

"Hogsmeade weekend?" Sirius asked.

"Yes!" Lily said glad he helped her remember. She lowered her voice and repeated, "Yeah. That was when it was."

"Was she bleeding from the head and nose?" Sirius asked.

Lily shook her head quickly.

"That was all Logan's doing," Sirius said turning to face him angrily.

"Lily said you did it," Logan said cockily, crossing his arms.

The two stared at each other. "Lily," Dumbledore said, "Which was it?"

"I don't know. Aly just told me it was Sirius who upset her. I figured that was why," Lily explained.

"She was upset because of me. She had just told me we couldn't be friends anymore," Sirius explained.

"Why did she say that?" McGonagall asked.

"Cause she was dating this jerk," Sirius said bitterly.

"What is this 'was' stuff?" Logan asked.

"You aren't dating her anymore," Sirius snapped.

"We're working things out," Logan lied.

"You are not," Sirius argued.

"Really? If we could ask her, I'm sure she would agree," Logan told him, smirk on his face.

"Oh, really?" Sirius chuckled. "Then why did she crawl into bed with me last night?" He raised his eyebrows.

Everyone fell silent.

"She did not. You're just making things up now," Logan said, his composure slipping.

"Am not," Sirius said defensively.

"You are too," Logan said.

"Not," Aly heard her own voice ring out.

"Aly!" Lily screeched and came running over to her.

Aly hadn't meant to make her presence known until the right time. "Are you alright? Oh gosh, can you remember anything? The nurse said you might not. What's my name? What's your name? How many fingers am I holding up?"

"Lily, let her breathe," Sirius said smiling at the commotion Lily was causing over Aly.

Logan was skeptically surveying her. Her father looked in awe of her alertness. McGonagall was smiling, clearly relieved.

"You said something," her father said.

"I did crawl into Sirius' bed last night. At least, I think I did," Aly said.

"See, it may not have really happened," Logan said.

"I thought I just dreamed it up, but apparently, since Sirius remembers it as well, it must've really happened," she looked at him. Her brows furrowed and he answered her unasked question.

"I brought you back before the nurse could notice you had left," he explained.

"What happened on the stairs, Aly?" McGonagall asked looking excited by the question. Apparently, they had all been eagerly awaiting an answer, except for Logan, as they all looked at her with excitement in their eyes.

"How long have I been out?" Aly asked instead of answering the question.

"Six days," Lily supplied quickly.

Six days. She had just missed six days of her life. Because of Logan. She let out a loud sigh and grasped at her chest. Pain had shot through her in a twisting agony.

The nurse took that as her cue to shuffle over. "Let us let her get back to sleep," she said. "She can answer all your question once she's rested up."

Logan and Sirius both looked pleased by this, for different reasons Aly was sure, but the other three looked let down.

"Headmaster," the nurse said, indicating that he should take over.

"Yes, yes. You're very right. Come along, everyone. Let's let Aly sleep." They all move towards the door except for Sirius. "Mr. Black," Dumbledore said in a stern voice.

"He can stay," Aly said happily.

"I'm giving you a healing potion for your broken bones, dear," the nurse said. "It'll put you right to sleep."

Sirius shrugged. "I can wait til she wakes up."

Aly smiled gratefully as Sirius stretched out on the bed next to hers. Lily looked at Professor McGonagall who in turn looked to the Headmaster.

"Albus," it sounded more like a warning than just a statement.

"Aly, I'm not sure if that's a good idea," Dumbledore warned his only daughter.

"I might just go looking for him in my sleep if he's not here," Aly told him.

Dumbledore nodded and said to McGonagall, "If it's what she wants," he said with a unsure shrug. The nurse came running over as Dumbledore beckoned her with a bend of his long finger. "Watch him. Closely."

She nodded furiously.

He sent a glance back at them as he left. Sirius had pulled out a comic book from somewhere and had it opened up.

The nurse was tending to Aly who took the potion she offered willingly.

He pulled the hospital wing door shut behind him with an uneasy feeling in his chest.

XxXxX

"Sir, he's got her brainwashed!" Logan exclaimed. They had all made their way to the Headmaster's office. "You've got to do something."

"Brainwashed?" Dumbledore asked.

"Look at the way she clings to him," Logan explained. "That's not normal. Why else would she be so needy of him? I'd check her for potions or some other sort of dark magic."

Dumbledore processed this. "We can't rule anything out," he finally said.

"Weren't you the one with her on the stairs?" Lily asked.

Logan turned to look at her, his face dark and angry. He said nothing.

Lily seemed to shrink, but continued, "Cause I'm trying to understand how this could be Sirius' fault if he was in the Great Hall eating dinner when it happened."

Dumbledore's eyebrows moved. "You saw him there?"

"I ate with him and the other three idiots who are always with him," Lily said. "And you were at the top of the staircase when it happened."

McGonagall turned an unsure eye on Logan, who responded with, "She was looking for you."

Lily seemed taken aback. "I didn't know that," she stated, turning red.

Logan smirked at the response he got.

Dumbledore held up his hands. "Sirius is now accounted for. I will look into what you have suggested, Logan. Until then, let us all keep an extra close eye on Aly."

XxXxX

When Aly opened her eyes, it was dark. Her ribs felt very stiff. She turned to look at the bed Sirius had occupied when she fell asleep. Sure enough, he was still there. He was curled up in a ball on his side. Aly noticed a string tied to his index finger that extended across the space between their two beds with the other end attached to her finger.

She moved her hand and his hand tugged and he jumped right up. He looked disoriented and upon seeing her awake tried to move to her side. He was still in a sleepy state and toppled forward onto the edge of her bed.

"Sorry," he mumbled, straightening out.

She was smiling, trying not to laugh, unsure of how her ribs would feel.

"It's okay," she told him.

"How are you?" he asked taking her hand and removing the string.

"Fine," she said watching his work. "What's with the string?"

"So you could wake me up," he told her.

"What if I simply rolled over?"

"That's be a welcomed awakening. You haven't move since she gave you that potion." He was studying her face.

"How bad is it?" she asked wondering how beat up she must look. His face gave nothing away.

"Not too bad. Or, well, not as bad as it had been anyways." He gently moved her hair back from out of her eyes.

"He's trying to blame you?" Aly asked, recalling what she had heard earlier.

Sirius simply shrugged.

"I won't let him get away with it," she assured him.

"I'm not worried about that. I'm just glad you woke up," he told her. "Everyone has been going nuts with you in here. James has made it his mission to take down the whole Hufflepuff house as punishment."

"Via Quidditch, I hope," Aly joked.

Sirius smiled and said, "Hopefully."

They sat quietly for a moment. "I should never have let you go alone," Sirius suddenly whispered. This had obviously been something that was weighing on his mind.

"It's not your fault," Aly said taking his hand. "No one saw this happening. I don't think Logan even did."

"So he did do it?" he asked quietly but angrily.

Aly nodded. "He's not a bad person, Sirius," she pressed. "He just has anger issues. He would never have intentionally pushed me down the stairs. We were fighting. Things happen."

He stood, but she clung to his hand. "Don't. Please."

He stood for a second, breathing heavy. "Sirius," she tugged on him.

He moved back closer but still hovered over her.

"I'm going to keep him away from you," he assured her.

"Thank you," she said quickly and changed the subject, "How's Lily?"

Sirius smiled. "More worried about you than herself, I'm sure."

Aly closed her eyes.

"What's wrong?"

He was right next to her face. If she turned, her nose would be touching his.

"Aly, tell me." His voice was soft and soothing.

"I just...how did this happen? How many lives did I disrupt?"

"No one's lives where disrupted, Aly." She turned to look at him, her nose moving across his cheek. "Don't be so mellow dramatic," he whispered as they moved closer together in a familiar stance.

A light streamed into the room. Sirius stood up quickly, whispering, "Damn," as Aly twisted her mouth in frustration.

The nurse came walking over to them. "She's awake," Sirius told her before she reached them.

"I'm going to do a quick exam," the nurse said briskly, pulling a curtain quickly around her and Aly.

Aly lifted her arms and coughed and followed the nurse's general directions. "He told you to keep him away from me, didn't he?" Aly whispered to the nurse as she pressed on her back.

The nurse paused for a moment in her movements, but said nothing as she started again.

"I know he did. Why?"

She instructed her to sit back.

"Sirius has never touched me. You've seen what Logan has done to me."

The nurse pulled the curtain back. "Take these potions," she instructed. She looked at Sirius, "They'll put her to sleep again. Make sure she takes them when she's ready."

She walked away from a smiling Aly.

"What was that all about?" Sirius asked.

"Nothing," Aly said with a smile at him. "Now tell me, what I've missed."

XxXxX

Sirius talked until the red streaks of the morning could be seen out the windows. "Take your medicine," Sirius instructed her.

"Why?" Aly asked, pouting.

"Because," he said playfully, "I want to get in a cat nap before I have to go to class. I don't have an excused absence."

"True," Aly agreed. "Will you bring me my homework later on?"

"Really? An excused absence and you want your homework?"

"Yes, please." She smiled at him.

He winked and made his way towards to door.

"You'll come back after class right?" she called out.

He looked over his shoulder and said, "Of course."

XxXxX

"How are you feeling?" her father asked.

"I'm good," Aly said. She was sitting all the way up with little discomfort. Sirius had brought her homework, and she had ushered him off to eat dinner with the Marauders. "I'm monopolizing your time!" she insisted as she shooed him.

"They'll probably all come back with me," he warned.

She had merely sent him on his way. She didn't find it to be threat. She wanted to see the other boys.

Her father walked around to come sit on the edge of her bed.

"Do you want to talk about what happened?" Dumbledore asked.

"No," Aly said plainly.

He didn't seem put off by this remark. "Okay. Can you please tell me what happened?"

She sighed and put down her quill. "What do you want to know?"

"Just tell me what you remember," he edged.

"I was talking to Amos about Lily. Me and Logan had an argument. And I feel down the stairs."

"Did he push you?" Dumbledore ask.

Aly hesitated, then said simply, "No. It was an accident."

"Are you sure?" he pushed. "After all the commotion that's been caused over you it seems that there must be more to this than just simply an accident."

She frowned at him. "I'm positive."

"Logan seems convinced that --"

"Wait." Aly's head began to spin. "You're still on terms with Logan?"

Her father simply blinked.

Aly shook her head. "God, be more dense, Dad." Then it dawned on her, "You think Sirius had something to do with this. Well, he didn't."

Dumbledore could sense the shift towards anger in his daughter. "Aly," he tried to calm her as well as explain himself, "A lot of this started once you started spending time with Black."

"Headmaster," the nurse interrupted.

He rose to converse with her. Aly was still fuming over the injustice to Sirius, but did still pick up on what they were saying.

"Are you sure?" her father asked.

"Positive. Completely clean, except for the potions I've given her."

Aly's eyes narrowed. They had potion tested her. She grit her teeth.

"Please leave," Aly said angrily.

He turned, his face showed hurt. He obviously picked up on her tone. "What's wrong?"

Aly merely stared at him.

"Please leave," she said again, but he didn't move.

The hospital wing door opened, and the nurse rushed forward. "No visitors right now. The headmaster is talking to his daughter."

Aly heard Sirius' voice, and her face softened.

Dumbledore saw this change happen right before his eyes. "It's alright. Mr. Black can come in," he announced, watching Aly.

She shifted towards the door in anticipation. Dumbledore's chest tightened as he saw her eyes sparkle as Sirius came into view.

"Hello, sir. I didn't mean to interrupt anything. I can wait. It's no problem."

Dumbledore shook his head. "It's quite alright, Mr. Black." He looked at his daughter and said, "She would obviously prefer to have you here."

With that, he gave a small nod and left.

"What was that all about?" Sirius asked watching the headmaster go.

Aly merely huffed and crossed her arms as she watched the slender figure that was her father leave.

"What?" he asked as he turned and saw her face scrunched up in anger.

"He thinks you're the reason why I fell," Aly told him.

Sirius frowned down at her, but then touched her under the chin. "Stop making that face. It just might get stuck that way. And that would be a waste of such a perfectly good face." He was teasing her.

"I'm just so mad. My life sucks."

He nodded and said, "I can see why falling down a flight of stairs would make it seem like your life sucks, but I don't think that that's necessarily true."

She looked at him, "What do I have to look forward to? I'm gonna fail charms now cause I've missed so much work I'll never catch up. Everyone is going to be watching me so closely that I won't be able to sneeze without someone harping to my dad about it. Logan's still Mr. Perfect, and everyone still loves him. And you're . . ."

"Still public enemy number one," he supplied.

"Yeah," she said with a sad shrug.

"It'll all be okay, Als," he told her. "Just keep your chin up."

She pushed out her lower lip.

"Al-eee!" Sirius whined playfully. "Stop being sad!"

She smiled at him.

"I will help you with charms," he informed her. "And your dad has always watched you closely. I just don't think you realize how close. And there's nothing you can do about it if he wants bump up his security on you. As for," he shook his head, "_him_, I think you need to make perfectly sure your dad knows what you really want."

"They think you're using magic to keep me close," Aly told him with an apologetic look.

He shrugged, and told her, "Whatever. I don't care what they think. You and I both know the truth."

Aly sent him a playfully glance and asked, "And what is that, Mr. Black?"

Sirius returned the look and said, "If it's anyone keeping the two of us together, it's you."

"Oh really?"

"Yea. No man, boy, or beast can help himself when you use such a weapon as your charm."

Aly threw back her head and laughed, as Sirius settled onto the edge of the bed across from her.


	40. The line in the sand

Note: This chapter is really short and hardly up to par in my opinion, butttt I've hit a huge motivation slump and can't seem to think of how to fill in the blanks between here and where the story is going. i just wanted you all to have something to read. So please do not judge this one too harshly. It is not my best work. But enjoy anyways!

XxXxX

Aly left the hospital wing two days later. Sirius had offered to assist her in this endeavor, since she hadn't walked any further than about 30 feet away from her bed, but her father insisted on walking her back to the Gryffindor tower. She walked much faster than the headmaster had anticipated or would have liked. This was mostly due to the fact that he spent the entire walk pressing that she should venture out and meet new people. It took all of Aly's will to bite her tongue and say nothing.

As they turned the corner, they saw Remus standing awkwardly outside of the portrait hole.

"Hey!" Aly nearly yelled. She hugged his more tightly then he had anticipated and he gasped.

"Let me breathe, Aly," Remus mumbled.

"Sorry," she said releasing him. "I just haven't seen you in years."

"It's only been like 10 days," Remus said.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Lupin," Dumbledore greeted. He clearly relieved to see that it was Remus standing there and not someone else.

"Hello, sir," Remus greeted.

"Well, I'll see you 'round," Aly said happily to her father, grabbing Remus and pulling him into the tower.

"Alyson," Dumbledore called.

She stopped and turned around to face him. "Yes?" she asked in an overly sweet voice.

"Please take into consideration what I said. Alright?"

Aly curled in her lips and nodded.

A loud noise came around the corner followed by the appearance of James and Sirius.

"ALY!" they both yelled in happy unison.

They made their way towards them, stiffening up and mumbling, "Hello, Headmaster," as they passed him.

"You look great!" Sirius exclaimed.

"Yeah. You should fall down a flight of stairs more often," James offered.

Dumbledore did not look as amused as the two boys and Aly did. Remus frowned at the remark as well.

As the two boys ushered her through the portrait hole, Remus turned to Dumbledore. "I'll make sure they don't roughhouse her, sir," Remus promised a deeply disturbed looking headmaster.

He nodded, not looking a bit reassured.

XxXxX

"What's wrong?" Remus asked Aly.

She had sighed loudly from a nearby couch. She had started spend almost of all of her time with the Marauders, but she refused to align herself in any of their pranks.

"I miss Lily," she mumbled honestly. She had learned rather quickly that at least one, if not all of them, would see through her lies.

"Where is she?" James asked perking up at the sound of her name as usual.

"I dunno. Hufflepuff house probably," Aly shrugged.

She hadn't talked to Lily since she had left the hospital wing. There was never a clear line drawn in the sand, but it was clear which side Lily had taken. She was never far from Amos' side and Aly was never far from the Marauders.

Logan had taken to following her around, but not in a menacing way. He was clearly working for her father. The teachers seemed to be keeping a really close eye on her as well.

The first time she had taken the stairs to dinner had been quite an adventure for her. Luckily, she had managed to put on a brave face for all of those watching. She was pretty sure only Sirius knew just how terrified she had been, and that was only because she had told him.

She had done just as Sirius predicted and caught up on all of her work. She had little physical damage left on her body. There were a few minor bruises that stubbornly remained on her ribs and legs and one nasty one on the side of her face. The psychological damage had yet to take its toll. Sirius and Remus pushed her to open up and talk about it, but they always got the same answer. "There's nothing to tell. It's in the past." Still, they brought it up every day.

"I'm gonna go for a walk," Aly announced and stood. This was to avoid the inevitable integration that followed her trying to leave the tower unescorted. The boys shared a glance as Aly stood waiting to see who would be the lucky winner and it appeared to be Sirius. He stood and said, "I think I'll go for a walk too. Much too stiff from sitting. Care if I join you?"

"It wouldn't make a difference if I said I did, would it?"

"Nope," he said heading to the portrait.

Aly sighed heavily and followed him.

"Where too?" he asked.

"I dunno," Aly mumbled.

They walked around aimlessly. Aly with her head down, feeling slightly miserable, and Sirius with his hands in his pockets and his head pointed up towards the ceiling.

"Don't you get tired of this?" Aly asked.

"Tired of what?" he replied, looking at her.

"This charade we put on."

"Charade?" His brow furrowed.

"All of you acting like your not following me around-- you, the teachers, Logan, the portraits---"

"Wait." He had stopped walking with her.

"What?" She turned to look at him. There was a good 20 feet gap between them.

"Logan's watching you?" he asked. Aly could tell he was trying to stay collected.

"Yeah. I'm almost a 100% positive he's doing it for my dad," Aly told him. "You didn't know?"

"Why would I know?"

"Well, Remus, James, and Peter have seen him watching us. I just figured they passed word onto you." Aly tilted her head to study him. "Are you alright?"

He seemed to be struggling with himself. He bit down on one of his cheeks and took a deep breathe. "I'm fine. I just didn't know," he said.

"It's not a big deal, Sirius. He's just looking out for me too. You have nothing to worry abo--"

He had moved so quickly she didn't see him move until he was in her face. He starred down at her. She felt herself slip into his brown eyes. "I had nothing to worry about before remember. Then I found you at the bottom of the stairs."

"You?" she whispered, too afraid to speak much louder.

He merely nodded. "I never want to see you like that again. Ever." He breathed. She closed her eyes and took in his scent.

His hands were gently around her arms. "I will kill him if he ever touches you again."

"Don't be over dramatic," she playfully teased.

"I won't let that happen again," he promised.

With a ping, Sirius was thrown backwards from her.

Aly whipped around. Amos stood wand out. Lily stood next to him glaring at Sirius.

Aly let out an inner groan and ran over towards the form that was Sirius on the ground.

"Sirius," Aly put her hand on him. His eyelids were open, but his eyes were rolled back into his head, and he was laying perfectly still. Amos' wand was still up and pointed at him. "Stop it!" Aly screeched.

When he didn't, Aly screamed, "NOW!"

Still he didn't let up, and Aly's wand appeared. "_Confringo!_"

Amos instantly burst into flames. Sirius' eyes rolled back to where they belonged.

Aly leaned over him, splashing small bits of water from her wand onto his face. Lily was using the same charm but in much bigger jets. Amos was smoking, but seemingly unharmed once Lily got the flames out. Sirius, on the other hand, laid completely still with all of his color gone.

"What did you do to him?" Aly yelled.

Amos was too angry to speak. Sirius opened his eyes and gargled and coughed.

"Are you alright?" Aly leaned over him, her hair cascading down around his face.

He spit out some water that must've gotten into his airway when Aly was spritzing him.

Aly moved to help him sit up and pushed her hair behind her ear, exposing her face bruise. Lily made a slight gasp.

"Amos, leave," Aly ordered.

"Make me," he huffed.

"Oh, I will," Aly said starting back up, her wand ready. Sirius grabbed her elbow and pulled her back down.

"Don't touch her!" Lily yelled.

All three of the other people looked at her startled.

"Do you see what he did to her face?" Lily asked Amos pointing at Aly's face.

"What did you do?" Aly asked grabbing at her skin.

"Nothing," Sirius said quietly. His eyes still not focused completely. "She's talking about your bruise."

"It's from my fall," Aly told her, standing up.

"Riight. You spend a lot of time with the people who may be responsible for your fall," Lily snapped.

"What are you talking about?" Sirius asked. "You said yourself that we were eating with you when it happened."

Lily rolled her eyes. "I'm sure you had something to do with it, Black."

Sirius moved like Lily had struck him.

"You're always the cause of Logan and Aly's fights."

"If you wanna get technical, Lily," Aly cut Sirius off. He had started to open his mouth to say something. "You were the reason for my fall. I was looking for you so I went to find Amos and I ran into Logan."

"Well, it's kinda Dickory's fault then, isn't it?" Sirius asked. "Forcing himself on a 5th year and poppin her cherry."

Aly sent him a look for using that vulgar term, but it seemed to do it's job.

"You told them?" he hissed at Lily.

"Just Aly," Lily exclaimed.

Amos stood studying the two before them. He finally nodded once and said, "The headmaster will hear about this."

"Yes he will," Aly replied darkly.

Amos sniffed and left. Lily turned to follow him.

"Lily, don't go," Aly pleaded.

She hesitated.

Amos asked Lily, "She told him a secret you told her. Is that a friend?"

Lily's eyes set in anger and followed her boyfriend.

Aly felt her heartbreak a little.

"Help up, please." Sirius' hand was near her hip. She grabbed it and heaved him up.

"Are you alright?" she asked him.

"Yeah. You?"

"I'm ---" she merely shrugged.

"Let's go the kitchens and get some sweets," he suggested.

"Do we need to make a stop at the hospital wing first?"

"Only if you shot that charm at me," he joked. "That was so badass!"

Aly smiled. She might just have to start living her life like a badass.


	41. Putting out the fire

Ok, so if this chapter seems a bit rushed, that's because it is. I had no bridge from the last chapter to the end of this chapter. But enjoy it anyways. I finally got to where I've been trying to get to. YAH =]

XxXxX

Aly paced the common room. She was slowly twirling her wand between her fingers. James entered followed by Peter.

"Hey!" Aly pounced on them.

"Whatever it is, no," James said pushing past her.

"Please," she begged, following after them.

Sirius appeared from the stairway. "What's she working on now?"

"Sirius! Please let me practice on you." Aly turned to face him.

"I still have bruises from being thrown last week on my...special regions," he said rubbing his butt gingerly.

"I'll be more careful. I promise. Plus, there will be no throwing."

They argued for about an hour, but he eventually gave in and, before he knew what was happening, he was being strangled with his own overextended hair.

"Sorry," Aly shrieked.

"That's it!" he yelled. He was on his knees trying to take in as much air as possible. He stood and looked at her. "You are taking this trying to be rough and tough thing too far. Practice on someone else."

"I said I'm sorry," Aly said hurt by his tone.

"Well, sorry isn't always enough. Plus," he was standing now, "What's your big concern about being able to curse people? You already had the crappy boyfriend who slapped you around. Wouldn't this have been more useful about a year ago?"

He was clearly angry and just taking out his frustration on her. If this had been any other day, one that Aly hadn't spent all day alone, being ostracized by all the other girls in the tower (who had taken Lily's side), she might have shrugged these comments off. As it was, they rubbed her the wrong way.

"Shut up, Black," she snapped. "If you don't want to help me, don't. No one's forcing. I'm sure you've got some skank to run off to anyways. Sorry to take up so much of your oh-so precious time." She turned on her heel and left.

She merely brushed past the Marauders on her way to breakfast the next day. Her injuries were still stinging.

She spent the day without talking to anyone and found a book to read while in the library so that she didn't have to spend the evening completely alone. At least some lame mystery novel with a lame detective could keep her company.

She settled into the best couch in the common room as soon as the library closed. She read long into the night, completely emerged in the story.

She was so emerged in her book that she didn't even hear anyone come down the stairs.

"Oh, hey," Sirius said sleepily. He stopped awkwardly at the bottom of the steps. "I was coming to put out the fire. I didn't realize that anyone was down here. I'll leave you be." He turned to leave.

"Wait," Aly called to him. She wasn't sure why she stopped him.

His eyebrows went up as he turned back.

She had no where to go with stopping him so she asked, "Why were you going to put it out? House elves do that every night."

"Not here," he said.

"What do you mean?" She had propped herself up on her knees to face him.

He took a careful step forward. "Fire places freak me out."

Aly raised an eyebrow and smirked, "Why?"

"Don't make fun," he said coming closer. "Once, when I was about 6, somehow, a lit fireplace caught our dining room on fire. I got trapped in my bedroom. So now I have to put out the fire before I go to sleep. I can't sleep if I don't."

She smiled at him, and he returned it. The animosity from earlier seemed to have lifted.

"I promise I'll put it out when I got to bed," she said with a tilt of her head. She returned to facing forward and went back to reading her book.

She figured she had left, but after a very long period of silence, he asked, "Why do you always do that?"

She jumped at his question and looked over her shoulder at him. "Do what?" she asked grumpily. She had been caught up in a suspenseful part of her book, and it scared her when he spoke.

He hesitated, but then jumped over the back of the couch and landed next to her. She felt her glare lifting as he adjusted himself after his jump.

"Do what?" she asked again, this time out of curiosity.

Without looking at her, he said, "That thing with your eyes."

This was not at all what Aly expected to hear him say, and she sat in silence.

He was still fiddling with his shirt when he added, "It's really hard to think when you make that look at me."

"Well," she said, swallowing hard as she thought of something to say, "I'm...sorry?"

He chuckled quietly. "Nothing to be sorry 'bout, Als."

"Well, I don't know what else to say. Mostly because I didn't know that I did anything with my eyes."

He turned to look at her. She examined his face. "Am I doing it now?" she asked scooting closer, trying to remake the look she thought she may have had on her face earlier.

He sat up straight. "No," he told her moving his face closer to examine her eyes.

"Now?" Aly tried a different eye placement.

"No," he said pushing a strand of her hair behind her ear. "Now you're just squinting."

She laughed quietly. "Well, apparently I can't control it."

"That's a good thing," Sirius told her, his hand resting behind her ear. "The entire Y chromosome carrying universe would be at risk if you could control that look."

She rolled her eyes and felt herself leaning into towards him as if by some magnetic force. He seemed to be moving in accordance to it as well.

His nose touched hers and he breathed, "Someone should come barging in at any second."

She smiled for a spilt second before his lips were on hers. Aly felt electricity shot from the top of her head to the tips of her toes.

He pulled away, holding her head in both of his hands now. His eyes shimmered in the glow of the depleting fire. He smiled softly and said, "You have no idea how long I've been waiting to do that."

"Well, do it again," Aly said moving up to him.

Their lips moved against each others. When Aly shifted, putting her arms around his neck, and pulled herself up to hoover over him, he pulled away quickly.

"Wha--?"

He had gotten up, and it looked like he was trying to put as much space between them as possible. He stopped by the stairs. His eyes looked black and empty. He licked his lips and said, "Be sure to put that fire out, okay?"

She sunk down onto the couch and stared aimlessly into the fire until it put itself out.

XxXxX

Dun dun dun. Guess you'll just have to wait to find out what that was all about . . .


	42. Trying

Sirius went out of his way to avoid Aly the next day. She took this as a personal insult at first, but it soon turned to self doubt. Maybe she was a bad kisser. Maybe she had done it wrong. Maybe it was some sort of dare. She didn't know, but the longer she sat and thought about it the more upset and troubled she became.

She was headed to dinner that evening, feeling like a complete failure at life, when she spotted the Marauders head out as well. She made a quick decision to get to the bottom of this. She needed to know what the previous night had been about.

"Hey guys," she said coming up behind them. All of them turned to face her, greeting her with a smile, except Sirius.

"Hey, Aly," Remus greeted.

"You guys don't mind if I steal Sirius for just a sec, do you?" she asked. "We'll catch up."

"Be our guest," James said, his face changing as he glanced at Sirius' face.

Aly grabbed Sirius by the top of the arm and pulled him towards a secluded corner. He allowed himself to be drug, but refused to meet her eyes once she stopped.

"Care to tell me what is going on?" she asked as calmly as possible. Having him in front of her was making her even more unsure of herself.

He stared at his shoes as he shuffled his feet.

"Do you really have nothing to say about it?" Aly asked exasperated.

"It was nothing," he finally said without looking up. "The atmosphere of the room…"

"The atmosphere?"

"I just," his head shot up, "It was a, uh," he thought then found the word he was searching for, "A brain fart. On both our parts, I think."

Aly's eye narrowed.

He nodded at her and said, "Alright. I'll talk to you later."

Aly had no idea what he had meant. Did he regret it or not? Did he think she regretted? He hadn't answered any of her questions. She caught him hard by the crook of the elbow. "It wasn't a mistake on my part," she said. "And I really don't think it one on yours either."

With that she moved past, half hoping he'd stop her, but when he failed to do so, she made her way out to Hagrid's. She had suddenly lost her appetite.

XxXxX

She waited for days for him to say something to her, anything. It never came.

Aly figured he had gone off and found some other girl to comfort him after his mistake. She had given up all hope on any sort of salvaging of whatever type of relationship she would've had with Sirius, be it friend or other. The day she had made the decision he passed her in the hallway. He was alone which was odd, but Aly was too focused on what she had to say to him to ask about it.

"Still nothing to say, Black? Go figures."

He didn't stop and kept walking.

"Fine!" she yelled after him. "Walk away. That's what you're good at. Kiss me then run off to some other skank. I thought I meant more to you than that. I guess I was wrong."

He stopped but didn't turn.

"So, who was it this time?" Aly snapped at his back. "Last time it was a 4th year. Did you at least manage to get a 7th year? I mean I hope you managed to get someone good. Cause you succeeded in losing a friend so I hope she was a good lay."

"ENOUGH!" he bellowed as he turned to face her.

"Don't you yell at me," Aly snapped.

His chest was heaving as he stared at her. "Is that all you think of me?" he barked. "That I can't handle things without a girl? That that is all that you are to me? That I thought it was a mistake?"

"You said---" Aly tried to argue.

"I said what I had to say, Aly. We've been here! I didn't mean to go back. I want, god how much I want, to just move past everything and put the past in the past and be with you, but things don't work like that."

Aly was stunned. Never in a million years did she expect him to say he wanted to be with her. She figured he was anger at her or upset. She stood silently, her mind racing, until she realized that he was waiting for her to say something.

"Why can't we be together?"

He smiled a sad smile. "Because. Because I don't know how."

Aly rolled her eyes. "What does that even mean?"

He took two steps towards her, but seemed to think twice about it and took one step back. He rubbed his hands together and said, "I want you, Aly."

Aly merely stared at him blankly. He already established that.

"Like," he struggled. He balled up his fist and licked his lips before carefully saying, "I _want _you want you."

Aly's mind still didn't comprehend what he meant until she watched his eyes rack down her body.

"Oh," she breathed out. She thought about it for a quick second and then asked, "Why is that a problem?"

"Aly!" he yelped.

"What?!" She was so confused.

"I can do that part," he said in a high pitch voice. "It's the part after that. The relationship part I can't do."

"You've never done," Aly corrected.

He blinked quickly. Apparently he had never taken that into consideration. "What if I lose interest after the, the…"

"Sex," Aly supplied. For all his experience in this area, Aly thought Sirius was awfully awkward about talking about it.

He flinched and shhh-ed at her. "There are portraits," he snapped in a whisper.

Aly looked around. The only frame on the wall was of a very old wizard. He was examining the grass in his picture, scissors in hand. Aly sighed and shook her head. Of course her being the headmaster's daughter would cause a problem for the troublemaker in front of her. He didn't want any sight or sound of this conversation to make its way back to the headmaster.

"Well," Aly calculated carefully in her head. "There's only one way to find out." She put her hand on the top button of her blouse.

His jaw dropped. She continued to the second and the third as he stood staring.

"Alyson Patricia," he gasped moving quickly to block anyone's view of her now showing bra.

"There's no one here but you," she said snippily.

Still, he moved her away from sight of the portrait.

"Plus, either you can see them or someone else can," she said using one of her defense mechanisms.

He glared at her.

"It's true. Any other boy can have access to…"

"Please, button your shirt," he requested, his eyes shut. "I can't think when your bra is showing."

"Either you have them or you don't. Make up your mind."

He peeked through his squint. "Please do your buttons. Please," he begged.

"Ugh, really? Sirius Orion Black, what is wrong with you? You pull girls into closets as a hobby, but you can't stand the sight of my bra. Honestly, what is wrong with you?" She buttoned up the lower two buttons. He reached out and buttoned the top one.

"You're different, Aly," he said simply. "You've always been. You know that."

"But whhyyy?" she whined loudly.

He put his index finger over her mouth to silence her. "I don't want just your body, Aly. I mean, don't get me wrong, I do want it, but I want to wake up next to you after."

"You've never---"

"Shh. I'm not done," he cut her off. "I am willing to try. But I'm worried I'll hurt you if I can't keep my hands to myself."

"You won't," Aly said confidently.

He shrugged.

"You won't," she insisted. "Let's try. For a little bit. We won't have to tell anyone so if it doesn't work everything can back to the way it was without any problems."

He looked at her, different emotions flashing through his eyes. Finally, he said, "Okay. Let's try it."

She smiled and wrapped her arms around him and pulled him into a hug. He hugged her back.

She pulled away, telling him, "And just for the record, we will not be having sex."

He smiled. "I'll try to control myself."

"Not likely," Aly commented.

Sirius laughed a deep bark of a laugh.


	43. Endings

Hey all! Sorry this took so long. With Christmas, I figured that I'd have this done by New Years, buuttt I got sick, and Aly managed to get put on the back burner. So, your forgiveness please.

XxXxX

Throughout the next few days, Aly seemed to be living a double life. By day, she spent her time with the Marauders like usual, watching Sirius flirt with girls. By night, she was the center of Sirius' attention. She had to work very hard to keep her feelings to herself when it came to watching him. He may have sworn off hooking up with females, but in order to keep everyone else in the dark, Sirius had to keep up his wandering eyes. Aly did worry that his eyes may lead his hands to wander, but she took comfort in the fact that Sirius was usually never alone being either with the Marauders or her.

After all the other Marauders would go up to bed, he would find his way over to her, wherever she would be sitting in the common room. If there were others still up, he'd simply come sit with her. He would hold her hand underneath the table while she continued to do whatever it was she was working on.

If they were the only ones left, they'd take the couch in front of the fire place. There he'd take to cuddling her, petting her, and kissing her. She enjoyed their time alone, but the late nights were making her exhausted and easily irritable. So it was only a matter of time until something made her snap.

One day, after lunch, she stood at the top of the Great Hall staircase contemplating whether or not to skip her next class and go take a nap. She stood behind the banister (she never hovered anywhere near the open part anymore) overlooking the going ons below her. Giggling found its way to her ears, and she looked to see that it was some Hufflepuff girls. They looked to be about third years, and they were all focused on one thing: Sirius.

Aly watched as one girl took the front, touching Sirius on the arm as he flashed her one of his signature smiles. He winked before walking away. Aly didn't watch where he went. Her eyes were targeted in on that one girl, who Aly mentally decided was the fat one of the group. As the girls were walking up the stairs, Aly heard the fat one say, "We're gonna meet up later."

"Oh, you are so lucky," one of her friends squealed.

A flash of light zoomed across the room.

The girls all let out screams; one worse than the rest. The fat Hufflepuff now stood bald.

Aly looked down and realized that it was from her wand that the spell was expelled from. She stowed her wand away quickly, and she made her way to her next class. With a look back, a smile spread widely across her face.

She got to the classroom and put her head down on her arms. She must've dozed off because someone was poking her hard on the forehead.

She mumbled incoherently, swatting her hand at whoever it was.

"Aly, I need to talk to you."

It was guy's voice.

"Whutzup?" Aly mumbled pulling her head up. She rubbed her eye. She had fallen asleep on it weird.

She caught sight of Amos out of her good eye.

"What do you want?" she snapped.

He didn't look phased by her response.

"It's about Lily," Amos started.

"Get out of here, Dickory," James said brusquely coming into the room.

"Leave," Sirius barked.

Amos had no chance to tell Aly what about Lily had brought him to her as he was pulled out of the room by a spell. Aly jumped up and followed him though. To her surprise, she was brought face to face with Logan who was waiting for him.

She sent him a glance of confusion and then turned to Amos, "What about Lily?"

The boys had followed her and now stood in the doorway. They all looked ready to attack.

"She went home," Amos said sadly.

"Why?"

McGonagall's voice filled the hallway. "Off to your classes."

The boys were pushed back into the classroom, and then she turned to face the two Hufflepuffs and Aly. "Go," she ordered.

"Her mom," Amos said over his shoulder as the professor ushered them off.

Aly's heart dropped.

"Come along, Miss Dumbledore," McGonagall said directing her into the room.

Aly moved as directed but moved up towards the desk in front of the room. "Professor, I need to go speak to the headmaster, please."

McGonagall stared at her and said, "You will just have to wait til after class."

"Please, Professor. It's urgent."

McGonagall pursed her lips and said, "Miss Dumbledore, remember your place. I am the teacher, and you do not have the authority to question me. I will have to take disciplinary action if you do it again."

Aly looked at her and realized what she was saying. "I'll question you if I want," she said loudly.

She felt the eyes of the room turn to her.

"Miss Dumbledore," McGonagall said harshly. "Take your seat, and be quiet."

"No," Aly snapped back.

"Aly," Sirius whispered from somewhere behind her in what sounded like fear.

"That's it. To the headmaster's office. Now." McGonagall's lips where gone, but Aly saw a smile in her eyes.

She mouthed a "Thank you" and grabbed her book bag and was gone.

She sprinted up the stairwell to her father's office and found Logan and Amos there already talking to her father.

"What's going on?" Aly asked breathless.

All three of them looked at her sadly.

"Mrs. Evans was taken to the hospital very early this morning," her father said.

Aly's bag dropped with a thud.

"We're waiting on any sort of update," he said. "And as I was telling these two gentlemen, Aly, all we can do is wait. So I want you all to go back to class."

Logan took a step forward, mouth open, and Dumbledore said, "Except, of course, you, Mr. Trentecost."

Aly sighed.

"I promise, Aly, that you'll be the first to know when I hear something," Dumbledore promised.

Aly nodded, grabbed her bag, and went back to Transfiguration. She sank back into the seat she had fallen asleep in earlier.

Professor McGonagall said nothing to her but sent her a glance of concern. Aly pulled out paper and took down the notes written on the board in the front of the room.

She was having trouble concentrating and was rereading the third step of the spell off the board when Logan entered the room. He handed Professor McGonagall a slip of paper and looked at Aly. Her breath had caught, and she had dropped her quill. She jumped up and rushed forward.

"What's going on? I just left…" she started, but the look on Logan's face stopped her.

"News came just after you and Amos left," he told her.

Aly's head and eyes turned towards the note in the professor's hand.

Logan leaned in and whispered into her hair, "She's gone."

Aly's heart stopped for a brief moment and then went into overdrive.

"I didn't even realize that she was that bad," Aly whispered.

Professor McGonagall looked at her, eyes wetting slightly, and said, "You are dismissed from the rest of class."

Aly nodded, her mind racing but empty all at the same time, and left aimlessly. At least three set of eyes were on her.

"I'll follow her. Make sure she gets back okay," Logan told the professor.

McGonagall frowned at this and instructed him, "Come back here once she's back to the Gryffindor tower so I know she made it back okay."

He nodded and started toward to door. "And Mr. Trentecost," McGonagall called, "Try to avoid stairs, please."

He scowled at this remark and walked out of the room with more stomping than necessary.

XxXxX

"Anyone seen Aly lately?"

"Nope."

Aly was making her way down to the common room. When she had gotten back to the tower after Logan's news, (she had noticed him following her but didn't stop to let him catch up) she collapsed on her bed, exhaustion finally taking over, and slept for 14 hours straight. When she woke, she had taken a two hour shower and, after realizing that she couldn't drown herself in an open stall, got out and went back to bed. She had stayed there until the day of the funeral, having lost all need for food or contact with people. Fawkes had delivered the details of her leaving the school for the funeral.

She had dressed in all black, curls down, and made her way to the common room where she was to meet her father. She saw that the Marauders were sitting at their usual table. "Hey," Remus called to her as she appeared.

She smiled weakly but didn't make her way over to them. She wasn't sure how she would react to seeing happy, whole people. Plus, she wasn't sure if they knew yet and didn't want to be the one to tell them.

The fire erupted, and her father appeared out of it. "It works," he smiled.

She nodded to show she had heard him, but said nothing more.

His smile faded, and he came forward. "Are you sure you don't want me to go with you?"

She nodded.

He frowned at her nonverbal communication and pressed further, "Are you sure you don't want to take anyone with you?"

Aly saw Sirius shift out of the corner of her eye.

She sighed, and he took that as her answer. "Through here. Say 'The Evans' House' and you'll arrive."

She nodded and stepped into the flames. With a swirl of fire, she arrived at the home. Lily rushed forward and pulled her into a bone crushing hug. Aly was thrown off by her sudden attention. Aly couldn't tell if Lily had been crying or started upon hugging her, but she did know that her shoulder was becoming very wet, very quick.

"I'm so sorry," Lily wailed. "About everything. I was just so upset and hurt and then I didn't tell you, and now she's, and you can't, and . . . I'M SORRY!"

Aly patted Lily on the back, still completely thrown off by her grasp.

Amos appeared and rescued Aly from Lily's arms. Logan was with him again.

"Hey," he greeted Aly.

She merely looked at him before turning to look around at the filled living room. There were a few people floating around the room, and she didn't recognize any of them. However, all of them had features similar to Lily's. Petunia was standing in the corner with a rather unattractive male. Aly assumed that he was her boyfriend. She looked almost as distraught as Lily. Mr. Evans was sitting on the couch, surrounded by two rather fierce looking females, completely zoned out. Aly watched his face, waiting for him to blink, but it never came.

The trip to the cemetery was a quiet one. Lily insisted that Aly ride in the family car. Amos and Logan rode with them as well since they had no other transportation. Petunia wore a look of disgust as she realized that she was outnumbered by magical beings.

The sun shined brightly down on them as they stood around the open ground. Aly felt her heart, which had been squeezed tightly since she had first been told that Lily had left school, finally release. The tears that she had been forcing in spilled out. Lily had one arm wrapped around her dad's and her other wrapped around Aly's. Amos stood behind her and as Logan stepped up next to him, Aly moved forward as much as possible.

As the preacher spoke to the crowd, Aly felt the sun begin to heat up her black clothing. While the family was left to have a private moment, Logan took the chance to speak to Aly. "How have you been?" he ventured. "Besides the last few days obviously."

Aly was much too overcome with the loss she was finally feeling to ignore him. "Tired."

"Why?" Logan asked.

"Staying up til 3 every night will do that to you."

"Why not go to bed earlier?"

Aly shook her head, "I might have to start doing that."

The family made their way up to the crowd, and everyone made their way back to the Evan's home. Once there, all of the people filled the tiny house. All of the nonmuggles found their way to Lily's bedroom. Aly sipped on a can of coke as she watched Lily stand in the corner and stare out the window. The four of them all sat in the silence for the duration of Aly's coke.

She finished and swished around the few droppings left in the bottom of can as Petunia came bursting into the room. "Aunt Claira wants you," she barked.

Lily sighed heavily. She followed her sister out of the room and the others followed.

The kitchen, where Petunia lead them, was overcrowded with older women. All kinds of pots were going and the oven was filled. Aly felt her head swim as the heat from afternoon that still lingered on her body mixed with the heat of the kitchen. She stood next to Lily as she talked to her aunt, but her ears began to buzz. She mumbled that she needed some air and pushed her way into the dining room. It wasn't any less crowded or cooler there. She made her way towards the front door, but fell short, landing on the floor, feeling on fire, everything going black. She felt cold water on her face.

"Aly?" Lily was very close to her. Aly's ears were still buzzing.

"Air," Aly mumbled.

Someone lifted her, and she felt the cool air of outside. Logan placed her on the front step and handed her a bottle of water.

"Thanks," she said taking a sip.

Logan stood behind her as she cooled down. She heard the door open and whispers be exchanged.

"Let's go," Logan said swooping her back up into his arms. Aly kicked her legs as he pushed back into crowded family room.

"Put me down," she insisted.

"The fireplace is ready," Aly heard Lily say.

Logan squeezed into the magically expanded hearth, Amos on one side of him, Lily on the other. With a flash, they were back at Hogwarts.

Aly heard a chair scrap heavily and without even seeing who it was, Aly yelled out, "Grab him, James."

Sure enough, as Logan looked to see who Aly had called out to, she saw James with an arm out around Sirius.

"Put me down," Aly said to Logan calmly. Logan complied by placing her on the couch. Aly immediately sat up and watched her boyfriend stare down her ex-boyfriend. She sent Lily a look of warning. She took it and ushered the boys out of the common room.

"I'll talk to you later. When I get back," Lily promised Amos, pecking him on the cheek.

She came back over to Aly. "You okay?"

Aly nodded and took a swig of her water.

"What happened?" Sirius said rushing over.

As Sirius studied Aly intently, Aly watched Lily study him. "You going back?" Aly asked her.

"I don't want to," Lily said sadly. "I can't stand to be with all these people. I don't belong in their world."

Aly placed her hand on Lily's shoulder. "Your dad needs you."

Lily nodded, "And that's why I'm going back." She looked at Sirius and said, "I see you'll be looked after."

Aly nodded and smiled. "I promise no more fainting."

"Good," Lily said.

Aly stood and hugged her. "When you coming back?"

"Soon," Lily replied.

As Lily disappeared into a burst of green, Aly was pulled onto the couch by Sirius.

"What happened?" His eyes searched her face.

Her eyes didn't met his as she studied her hands. She didn't know what to say to him and was grateful that all the others where there because he wouldn't be able to do anything.

She stood, and mumbled, "I need to go lie down."

"Aly," Sirius said quietly.

"Please, just let me be," Aly gasped, tears starting from no where, and quickly made her way to the stairs.

XxXxX

Aly kept her distance from Sirius over the next two days. It was when Lily finally made her return that Sirius managed to corner her.

She was chatting with Lily in the library when he showed up. "Hey, Lily," he said. "Good to see your back. I'm really sorry for your loss. If you need anything, don't hesitate to ask."

Lily choked up as she said, "Thank you."

Sirius smiled kindly at her and asked kindly, "May I borrow Aly from you?"

"Of course," she smiled and turned to Aly, "I'll catch up with you."

Aly bite down on her lip as Sirius gently took hold of her wrist and pulled her between two rows of books. "How have you been?" he asked.

Her eyes determinedly looked everywhere except his face. "Aly? What is wrong?" His voice portraying just how worried he was.

Aly chuckled.

"What?" he asked quickly.

Again, Aly chuckled. "Really? You don't know what's wrong with me?"

His wide eyes told her that he didn't. He clearly didn't realize that the fact that some skinny blonde eating dinner on his lap had upset his girlfriend.

"Well," Aly snapped angrily, "Why don't you go ask Airyn Lawrence? I'm sure she could tell you why."

She crossed her arms and waited for his response. The laugh that rang out of his mouth was not what Aly had anticipated or wanted to hear.

Before she could stop herself, her hand ripped across his face. "Consider us over," she snapped and stalked away before he could respond.


	44. The letter

Upon Lily's return to school, she had a gift for Aly. It wasn't technically a gift, but Aly treated it as if it was. It was simply an envelope with her name scrawled across it. However, the fact that it was written in Mrs. Evans handwriting is what made Aly tuck it safely under her pillow. She had yet to open it when she had headed to the library with Lily.

It was only after she had broken up with Sirius, if there was really any sort of relationship to break off, that she tore open the letter. She was sitting on her bed, crying, unsure why she was so upset about no longer being Sirius Black's secret girlfriend, feeling pretty sure he'd move on without any regrets (except maybe that he wasted a week or so of his time without hooking up with anyone), when she slipped her hand under her pillow and found the letter.

She sat up straight and stared at the letter laying in her hands. With a giant sniffle, she turned it over and gently opened it up. She gingerly spread out the creased paper to view the handwriting of one of her favorite people.

The letter greeted her with a: _"Dearest Alycat,"_

The tears began to pour instantly, and Aly had to hold the paper straight out in front of her to save it from the water.

"_I realize that when you get this that I will probably be gone. I cannot even begin to think about when that will happen without first worrying about my children, all three of them. _

_My Petty is strong and will handle herself with the fortitude of the solid person she is._

_My Lilyflower is smart and amazes me everyday. She will continue to amaze the world even without my pride and praise from sidelines._

_But then we reach my Alycat. My brave, charismatic, and stubborn to the core Alycat. What will become of her once I am gone? She was born into a broken shamble of a world, raised by a man who knew little of parenthood but always tried his best. I remember when the tough, little thing showed up at my house for the first time. She was broken, lost, and in desperate need of a mother._

_I was lucky enough that she allowed me to be that surrogate mother. _

_See, Aly, my children mean the world to me. Each of my two daughters is a wonder and a gift to me every single day. They represent the very best of me in very different ways. I wanted them. I expected them. I raised them. I picked them. What makes you special is you picked me._

_I am honored to have been a mother to you for the past 5 years. You have opened up your heart to me and allowed me to be a part of your very special life. It amazes me everyday that you have grown into such a beautiful woman and that I have been so privileged to get to witness it. You may not be my biological child, Alyson Patricia, but you will always be a blooming flower in the garden of my life. And that garden would not have been complete with just a Petunia and a Lily. I needed a bright, sunny daisy, skittish of the sunlight some times but happy to show of its petals. _

_As it is, it has been decided that I should leave this world much earlier than I had intended. With that, I am leaving my three girls the advise they will need on the very important days of their lives that I will have to miss. _

_First, for you and Lily: Graduation. I was lucky enough to watch my oldest bear the cap and gown, but I fear that I will miss yours. Know that I am so proud of you and all that you have accomplished. Bottom or top of the class, at the end of the day, the student who got the medical degree with the lowest GPA is still called 'Doctor.' Be proud of your schooling and move on with all the hope you can stand in your eyes. You _**will**_ do great things. I can feel it to my very bone. This is not just something I am telling you. This is not something you will see written in Lily's letter either. My Lily is so smart, and she will do amazing things, but you, Aly, I have always just felt it. I have always looked at you and thought, 'That girl, she's going to be remembered.'_

_Next is your relationships. Not that any of you share any of this with me now while I'm alive, but I do have some advice I would like to share. Take it was you want. _

_Pick a man who makes you laugh, who challenges you, who makes you think. These are what love are built upon. Lust will fade. So will looks. Don't pick the one you are happy with. Pick the one who makes you happy to be you. No man will ever be good enough for you. But pick one who will come pretty close. _

_I won't be there to cry on your wedding day. So I will cry now thinking about you in a long, white dress (I assume magic weddings are similar to non-magic ones), dark curls framing your sparkling blue eyes, a huge, happy smile on that gorgeous face of yours as you walk down to that man who will never be good enough for you but is pretty darn close. I offer you these word of wisdom: Love one another. Trust one another. But above all else, respect one another. This is what my grandmother told my mother who told me and I now share it with you._

_The day that breaks my heart the most to think about is the day I miss my grandbabies being brought into this world. You reach a point in your life where you start thinking happily of those little feet that belong to your once own little feet. I will miss getting to help you all prepare and worry. I'll miss suggesting names that none of you will take. I'll miss holding my babies' babies. But know this, it will be the scariest and most fulfilling thing you ever do. That baby will be your life and do everything in your power to make that baby's life the best it can be. I'll be watching, so I'll know if you're doing your job right._

_With that, my Alycat, I have come to my ending. Take care of yourself. I know you've done that for so long, and it tears me up to know that I can no longer try to help ease that burden on you. You have made my life better by simply existing. Never forget that. When all else seems to fail, which does happen sometimes, remember that you made an old woman happy. Did I say old? Well, I feel old. Dying does that to a person. But I want you to grow old. Die an old lady. You have so much to give. Don't let this world miss out on one single minute of your greatness. Live every day to the fullest. Have no regrets. You can't wait for life to hand you want you want, sometimes you just have to reach out and take it. But be patient. Some of the best things in life are worth the wait. Or is it that they're free? It's complicated. But that's life. Everything makes sense and absolutely no sense all at the same time. Be happy in all that you do._

_And know that I love you. Always. _

_This isn't goodbye. It's a 'See ya later.'_

_All of my love forever,_

_Mom_


	45. The Ultimatum

Aly cried harder than she had ever cried in her life, but, when she stood, she had a plan.

She had a direct course to take. Nothing was going to get in her way. She found her target in the library. How she was so lucky to find him alone was beyond her, but Aly cornered Sirius in between two aisles of books.

She walked straight up to him and continued to walk at him until his back was against a wall. Their noses were touching as he stammered, "Hee-ey." He was clearly uncomfortable with her being so close to him.

She stared hard into his eyes. He squirmed uncomfortably, but managed to ask fairly calmly, "Als, can we talk?"

Aly continued to stare hard into his eyes.

"Look," he started trying to move away from her. She simply moved with him, and before he could say another word, she kissed him.

All the thinking she done on her search through the castle for him and all the calculating she had done once she had found him had not added up to this. She wasn't sure what had made her do it. Apparently her heart was more in control then her brain.

She pulled away angrily, running scenario after scenario through her head as her mouth twisted sourly. It wasn't that she had minded kissing Sirius. It just wasn't the way this was suppose to go.

He was staring at her like she was crazy, which she wasn't all that sure at the moment if she was or not. He finally squinted and said, "I though we broke up."

"We did," Aly snapped, angry at herself about the kiss, not at him for the comment.

"Then what was that?"

Aly ignored his question. Instead she announced loudly, "24 hours."

"Huh?" he asked in confusion. "Til what?"

Aly ignored him again and continued with her announcement, not looking at him, "In 24 hours time, you will meet me right back here. You will have made your decision by then."

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw his eyebrows shot up. "What decision?"

She took a deep breathe and pulled herself up as tall as possible. "About me."

A smile slide across his lips. She resisted the urge to smack it off of his face. "What about you?" he asked slyly, moving one of his eyebrows.

Her frown deepened as she determinedly stared at his feet. "You have to make a final decision. Either you have me or you don't."

"What do you mean by that?" his questioned, his cocky smile sliding off of his face.

"I mean," Aly explained, realizing that this was going to be harder for her than she had anticipated, "That either you're my boyfriend, no other girls in any other way. Flirting included."

He cut her off, "You were the one who said I should --"

"Either that," she cut him off loudly, "Or no me anymore. In any way, shape, or form."

This clearly hit him hard. In a whisper he asked, "Not even friends?"

Aly swallowed hard. "Not even friends."

He looked at her, his eyes hard. "So you're giving me an ultimatum?"

She crossed her arms. "24 hours. You _will_ make your decision. It's all or nothing."

He crossed his arms and stared down at her. "I will not be forced to make a decision."

Aly stared back at him. "If you don't pick, I'm gone."

He summed up her expression and realized that her mind was made up.

She softened her expression and said, "I want you to really think about it, but I'm not going to wait around forever. Tomorrow."

She turned to leave, but turned back on her heel. He was already thinking and looked up with wide eyes as she took two steps toward him. She grasped his face in her hands and kissed him in what she hoped was a sexy kiss. When she pulled away, it was clear on his face that she had succeeded.

With that she left him to think things over, adding a little extra swing to her hips.

XxXxX

For dinner that night, Aly tried to sneak quickly in and out of the Great Hall. She made a grab at a sandwich, and, as she turned to leave, she knock into someone.

"Sorry," she mumbled trying to move past them.

"What is this? A hit and run?"

Aly, who had stuck the sandwich between her teeth, smiled around it. Remus smiled in return.

"Not eating with us?" He was clearly snooping for information, and he was really bad at hiding the fact.

"Sirius has been given an … assignment," Aly told him. "And I can't be around while he does it."

She tried to leave the hall, but Remus followed her. He stopped her at the double doors. "So are you two still fighting?" He apparently really wanted his questions answered since he hadn't been given any sort of explanation.

She didn't want to answer the question so instead she observed the enchanted ceiling. Her brows creased as she looked up at the replica of the outside sky, "Shouldn't you be getting ready?"

"For what?" he asked. He followed her eyesight, and Aly watched the color drain from his face. "What are you talking about?" he choked out.

Aly closed her eyes, realizing what her offhanded comment had revealed, and let out a low hiss of a curse word.

Remus grabbed her by the upper arm and pulled her outside. The cold wind thrashed around them, and Aly wrapped her arms around her for warmth.

"Aly, what are you talking about?" He sounded desperate.

She took a small bite of her sandwich and chewed it slowly.

"Aly," he pressed.

She swallowed and said, "I know."

He waited. He clearly wanted to hear her say it.

"I know what happens to you, every month," with a sigh she added, "At the full moon."

He hung his head.

"Remus, it's not a big deal."

He let out a harsh laugh. "Should've known Sirius couldn't keep his mouth shut. He'll say anything if you ask."

"No," Aly corrected him. "Lily found out about it. And we figured it out from there."

"Lily knows?" he yelped.

Aly rolled her eyes. "We've known since second year."

"Second year?!"

"It's not that big of deal." She went to put her hand on him, but he pulled away. "You're still you!" Aly exclaimed stomping her foot.

He moved away from her, looking out over the twilight lit grounds. Aly felt tears well in her eyes. She needed to make him see that she didn't see him as he saw himself.

She moved up behind him and wrapped her arms around him, tears rolling into his back. Aly could feel his body, which had originally tensed at her attempt to touch him, relax slightly. They stood in silence, the cold taking a hold on them, until he finally said, "Thief."

Aly laughed happily into his back. "See! Nothing is different. Nothing's scary."

He shook his head and turned to face her.

"You, my friend, are the least scariest of all the Marauders."

He pulled up tortured eyes to look at her, trying to sum up the weight of her words.

Aly continued, "It's been five years, Remus. So what? I know. You have a secret. Big deal."

"This isn't just a secret," Remus said downtrodden. "It's my life."

Aly laughed aloud which made the corners of his mouth twitch in what looked like pain. "You've got friends who are worse off then you, dear."

His face showed his skepticism so Aly elaborated. "Headmaster neglected daughter who raised herself. Son of possible death eaters. Hopeless in love with a girl who hates him. Dead mom. Fat camp." She tilted her head and raised her eyebrows at him.

Remus smiled slightly and she proceeded, "See. It could be worse."

"Worse then endangering everyone's lives once a month?"

"I do the same thing! You PMS, Remus, just like 50% of the student population here. In fact, some girls are probably scary then you are," she told him and then added, "Probably hairy too."

"No," he shook his head sadly. "It's not the same."

"I highly doubt you'd ever hurt anyone," Aly informed him putting her hands on her hips.

"Almost!" he shouted in agony.

Aly's eyes went wide as she realized he wasn't joking. "Who?" she asked in a whisper.

Remus turned his head, determined not to answer.

"Tell me," Aly pleaded.

He acted as if he hadn't heard her.

"I have other sources," she informed him. "Ones that can easily be persuaded to tell me."

The look of determination she got from her mother was set on her face. She turned, acting as if she were going to leave, and he grabbed her arm to stop her. "Fine," he said sounded peeved. "It was Snape."

Aly showed no look of surprised as she told him, "Figures. He's always snooping around you guys."

"Well the problem is," he said looking at her dismally, "Sirius led him to me."

Aly's jaw drop. She knew Sirius and Snape didn't get along, but she never figured that Sirius would take advantage of his friend to do harm to Snape.

"You can't tell him you know," Remus told her. "You were the one person he wanted to keep it from. Even your dad agreed not to tell you."

Aly felt bamboozled. Something had managed to slip past her notice.

Remus, who had stood and let her process this, pulled her out of her retrieve, "Aly, tell me the truth. Have you ever looked at me differently?"

She looked into his grey eyes, full of worry, and answered honestly, "Yes." His eyes shut tightly. "For about two days."

"Two days?" She couldn't tell if he was surprised or upset.

"Yeah, until you came back I was concerned. But then you came back, and I saw that you were still the same, old Remus. I haven't thought of you differently since."

His face showed her that he still didn't fully believe her.

"Seriously," she stressed. "No," she corrected, "Honestly. I don't want any of my feelings aligned with anyone of that name."

This seemed to win him over because he laughed. Aly took this as an opportunity to move forward and hug him.

"Thank you, Aly."

"For what?" she asked into his chest, trying to warm her nose.

"For still wanting to be my friend."

"No prob," she said with laugh.

Light streamed over them and Sirius' voice came booming at them, cutting through the cold. Aly instinctually moved away from Remus and turned to face the body the voice came from.

"Sirius," Remus started.

"Dude," Sirius whined, his eyes shifting from Remus to Aly.

"We were just talking," Remus said calmly.

"Didn't look like talking," Sirius said pointedly.

"It was," Remus said putting his hand on Aly's arm.

"Dude," Sirius snapped, point at where Remus' skin was on hers, "Off my kool-aid."

Remus pulled away, and Sirius merely stared at him.

"I'll see you 'round," Aly said quietly to Remus, choosing to walk away before an argument broke out between her and Sirius. However, as she passed him, she whispered to Sirius, "Yours?"

She ate the rest of her frozen sandwich as she walked back to the tower.

XxXxX

The next day Aly returned to class as usual. Lily was with her, her first day back since her mom died, and Aly spent most of the day trying keep her mood up. However, Sirius still managed to slip into her mind.

At lunch, Lily ate with Amos, and Aly reluctantly slide down next to Logan. She sat silently all through the meal, reminding herself that she was there for moral support. She left lunch early to let Amos walk Lily to class alone. She was sitting at her desk when she heard an "Ugh! Fine!" and James appeared in front of her. "_Someone_ wants to know why you ate lunch with the Hufflepuffs."

There was a very loud clearing of a throat, and it told Aly exactly who the someone who wanted to know was.

"_Sooor_rryyyy! Someone wants to know why you ate lunch with Logan." Aly looked at James and realized what a good friend he was to Sirius.

"Because I can eat lunch with whoever I want," Aly said cooly.

"That's what I said," James exclaimed throwing his hands up and walking away.

Aly smiled to herself, pleased that Sirius had taken notice of who she had sat with at lunch. She put her chin in her hand and let herself slip into a daydream. Amos and Lily appeared in the doorway a few minutes before class started. Aly watch him touch her cheek, say something, and then kiss her softly.

Lily came in and sat down next to Aly and asked, "What's wrong?"

Aly didn't respond but shook her head. Her daydream had been shattered. She didn't know why watching Amos and Lily had affected her so, but she felt like her life had just cracked.

Would she have that? Would someone ever treat her like that? She tried to picture Sirius doing that, but it wouldn't come. She couldn't move their private moments inside the common room outside of that space. Then something occurred to her that she had never thought of. Love. Could Sirius ever really love her? Or more importantly, could she love him? She thought about it. She never really knew love. She had borrowed love from Lily's mom, but that was pretty much it. Maybe she was incapable of love. She knew now that she never loved Logan, just what he had represented: everything she thought she was missing in life. Would it be fair to trail Sirius along if she couldn't ever love him?

She spent the rest of class contemplating this new insight. She paid little attention to anything else the rest of the day. She hardly registered the group of girls surrounding Sirius just 30 minutes before she was to meet him, making a extremely small mental note about it. Her mind was still spinning as she approached him in the library later.

He turned to face her, no smile on his face. He looked solemn as he said, "I've made my decision."


	46. The Decision

Hey all! Sorry this took so long to get up. Life has been very hectic around these parts. The next chapter, hopefully, won't take so long to get up. Enjoy!

XxXxX

Aly stared at him, waiting for him to continue. When he remained silent, she rolled her eyes.

"Stop that," he snapped. "This is hard for me. I need to make sure I say the right thing."

Aly tried to relax her face, as well as her still racing mind.

Sirius took a deep breathe and said, "This isn't going to be an easy outcome for either of us." He looked at her. His eyes were wide, but Aly couldn't tell if it was from sadness or regret or any other emotion he might have been experiencing. "We're gonna have to work really hard to follow through once the decision is made. He sighed again, heavily. "I didn't think this would be so hard."

"Just get on with it," Aly snapped. She knew this was the end of them, and she couldn't understand why he was dragging this out. He looked thrown off by her reaction.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

Aly lowered her head and whispered, "Just say it, Sirius."

She couldn't see the look of concern on his face that he shrugged off before taking a step closer to her. "Aly," he said softly, taking her hand, "I've thought very, very hard about this and this seems to be the only answer to this situation. So, I pick you."

"What?" Aly's head shot up and collided with Sirius' chin.

"Ah!" he exclaimed grabbing his chin in pain.

"I'm sorry!" Aly proclaimed holding onto her head.

"It's okay," he said through clenched teeth. His lip was bleeding from where he had bitten it.

"Here," she said, seeing through one eye that he was bleeding rather profusely. Her other eye was still closed in pain. She pulled a tissue out of her pocket to hand to him. It slipped between both of their fingers, and Aly went to reach for it.

"I'll get it," Sirius stated, and, as they both grabbed onto it and stood, their heads collide.

"Oh come'on!" Aly yelped in pain as she took to sitting on the floor, her balance thrown off by the throbbing coming from opposite sides of her head now.

"I'm sorry," Sirius gasped.

"I wasn't yelling at you," she grumbled.

"Are you ok?" he asked from above her.

She mumbled "I'm fine," in response.

He sat down next to her. "We're off to a fantastic start, huh?" he commented, bloody tissue still held to his lip.

She exhaled loudly and he asked again, "What's wrong?"

She sat quietly, trying to find the right words to explain to him what was wrong. She had been completely thrown off by his choice. She honestly expected him to pick staying single. What had made him decide to be with her? She knew one thing, she didn't deserve it.

"Aly," he pushed.

"Fine." Aly took a deep breath but thought twice before trying to answer him and decided to turn the conversation around on him. "Can you love me?"

He was completely thrown off by this and began to stammer, "Uh, well, hmm…"

"Not right now."

"Oh," he breathed in relief and relaxed. The corners of his mouth went down, but he said, "Sure. Some day. I guess."

Normally, Aly would've found his lack of conviction humorous, but she was too worried about her own doubt on the subject to laugh at his.

"What if I can't love you?" she asked.

His eyebrows went up so she explained, "I've never been loved. Not really. Not a love all my own. What if I can't do it? What if I'm incapable of …"

His laughter cut her off. She felt her insides twist painfully. Was his laughter a sign of agreement or a sign of relief? She closed her eyes and waited for him to make his move. She expected to hear his footsteps, but instead she felt his hands on her cheeks and his lips on her forehead.

She opened her eyes and looked at him. He was very solemn and calm as he asked her, "Is that where it hurts?"

Her eyes must've showed her confusion because he titled his head the side and smiled.

"Didn't you hear me?" she asked desperately.

"Of course I did." He smiled at her like she was a small child and shook his head. "You always underestimate yourself. Why should this be any different?"

Aly narrowed her eyes at this comment. "Oh, Aly, come'on. It's a compliment. You always do better than you think you'll do."

"But,"

He stopped her, "No buts. You are plenty good at loving. In fact, you love a little too fiercely sometimes. You loving won't be a problem. Now, you accepting love, that may be a different story. But it doesn't change who you are." He suddenly stood. With a groan, he commented, "My knees aren't what they used to be." He promptly held out his hand to her. She allowed herself to be pulled up. He put his hands on her neck and said, "I won't have your daddy issues coming between us. I picked you." He smirked as he added, "Mostly because you asked me to, but you're pretty cool to have a round. I'd like to keep it that way."

"Really?" she asked meekly.

"I _love_ having you around," he said putting emphasis on the word 'love.'

She swatted at him.

"You know what else I love?"

She tilted her head up to look at him, "What?"

"This," and he kissed her. It was soft and gentle and it threw Aly off completely. This was his way of telling her that he wanted her, damage and all. Aly felt her heart melt with happiness, and she deepened the kiss. He seemed to have no objections to this as he pulled her closer. Her hands found his hair, and her fingers wound their way through his strands.

"Mr. Black!" a shrill voice bellowed at them. Sirius moved quickly in front of Aly, almost as if he were acting as a shield.

"Hey, Pincey. How's it going?"

Aly covered her mouth the stifle her laughter.

"If I told you once, I've told you a million times!" The old lady came charging at them. "Not in my library. Out, out, out!"

Sirius quickly moved Aly out of the library. Madame Pince followed them out, but Sirius kept Aly covered.

Aly laughed all the way around the corner. Sirius, who was wearing a look of worry, smiled at her. "I'm glad you find it funny. The only person worse than her catching us would be McGonagall.

Aly nodded, fully understanding and appreciating Sirius' attempt to conceal her. There was an unsaid agreement between them that Dumbledore did not need to know about this quite yet.

"So," he came over and looked down at her, "You still think we can't do this?"

"I never said you couldn't do this," Aly corrected.

"Between the two of us, who's going to have the most to work on?"

Aly nodded in agreement and asked, "What was with the girls earlier?"

His eyebrows creased. "What girls?"

"The ones I saw you talking to in the front hall."

Sirius took a second to think and then said, "I don't recall any girls."

Aly rolled her eyes.

"I said not to do that," Sirius directed. "And if I was with any girls today, it was in passing. I didn't really talk to _anyone_ today."

Aly could tell that he was telling her the truth by the look in his eyes. "So," she said, tilting her eyes up at him.

"So?" he said cautiously. He could clearly tell by the way she was looking at him that she wanted something.

"Are you my boyfriend now?"

He nodded at her, looking relieved that that was all she had wanted, but she pushed, "I need to hear you say it."

He through his head back and whined, "Whhyyy?!"

"Because," she said pointedly.

He set his face and said nothing, not wanting the cave to her request.

"Pleeasse," she pushed.

He muttered something under his breath and, with an overdramatic sigh, said, "I'm your boyfriend."

"Thank you, sweetheart," she said extra sweetly and kissed his cheek.

He crinkled his nose and asked, "'Sweetheart'?"

Aly merely fluttered her eyelashes at him playfully and walked away. He followed closely. She smiled to herself as they found their way to the portrait hole in silence.

"You look happy," the fat lady commented. Aly's smile spread even wider as Sirius gave the password.

Aly made her way to an open table and pulled out her charms book. She watched Sirius look around the room confused.

"What's wrong?" she asked him.

He looked at her and then at the empty Marauder table. Aly rolled her eyes and said, "You're gonna have to tell them eventually."

"I know," he said taking a step towards her, but the portrait hole opened and the three boys came wandering in. Sirius whipped around quickly.

"Hey, Pad," James greeted him. "You missed dinner." Remus and Peter sat down, but James came right up to Sirius, who looked like a deer in headlights. "What's wrong with you?"

Sirius shook his head and sat down. James followed suit.

Aly watched them as she pretended to work on her homework.

"What's the plan for tonight?" Peter asked.

"Tonight?" Sirius asked.

"Yeah," James' eyes went big, "Tonight." He turned his eyes onto Remus.

"Oh, tonight. Right, right," Sirius said.

"What is wrong with you?" James asked again staring hard at him.

Sirius just shook his head and lowered his eyes.

James stared at him for a few more seconds before turning to answer Peter's question. "I got detention tonight."

"What for, Prongs?" Sirius asked.

"Snivellus," James said bitterly. "I'll be late for the party."

"Me too," Sirius explained.

It was Peter who asked, "Why?"

"I've got a thing," Sirius replied cryptically.

"What?" James asked his eyes moving towards Aly, who quickly lowered her eyes back to her work.

Luckily, Remus came to the rescue, "There's no need to show up anyways." Aly felt her heart accelerate. Why would they go see Remus when he was in that state? Worry took over as she pictured the three boys face to face with a werewolf, even if that werewolf was Remus. She would have to have a talk with Sirius about it later.

"We'll just come late. _All of us_," he stressed looking at Sirius.

"Fine by me," Sirius said quickly. "Pince never keeps me late."

With that comment, James seemed to relax. "Library again, eh, Padfoot?"

Aly's left hand clenched into a fist. _Again?_ she raged in her head. She reminded herself that she would have to get over being compared to Sirius' former escapades. So, she worked hard to ignore the rest of the boys conversation. However, her curiosity was perked every time she heard James and Sirius call each other Padfoot and Prongs. She noticed Remus tense up slightly every time they did. She decided to just ask Sirius about that as well when given the chance.

"Alright," James said standing, "Time to serve our sentences."

"Tell me about it," Remus said darkly. Aly noted that the sun was almost gone from the sky. She had clearly misjudged the moon the night before.

"Meet back here before we go?" James asked.

"I'll just meet you there," Sirius told him winking at Remus.

The four of them left, and Aly waited for Sirius to return.

Fresh snow had fallen throughout the night into the morning, and Aly was grateful for people's strange interest in it. It left the common room empty except for an occasional passerby.

Sirius returned about 10 minutes after he left.

"Where'd you go?" she asked him as he sat down across from her.

"Library."

"Why?"

"James insisted on walking me there," Sirius said with a sour look upon his face.

"What is his problem?" Aly asked feeling annoyed by his need to hoover.

Sirius shrugged, but his face told Aly that he clearly knew what was wrong with his best friend. He sat and stared at his hands as Aly sat and watched him.

"Sirius," she said quietly.

He looked up, tortured eyes falling on her.

Aly felt her heart wrench. "What's wrong?"

He shook his head as his answer.

Her spirits fell as she asked, "Are you regretting this?"

"No!" he exclaimed quickly. "It's not about you. Not at all. I'm just…" he trailed off and went back into his retrieve.

Aly let out a small sigh, not sure what to say or do for him, and went back to work. He sat silently as she tried to finish the work she needed to catch up on. She eventually gave up trying to finish since her mind wouldn't take itself off of the boy sitting across from her. She snapped her book shut and started to put it away. As she tilted the book, it's pages downward, into her bag, Mrs. Evans' note slipped out. She had completely forgotten that she had tucked it away in there.

Aly let out a small gasp as it fluttered out of her reach, over by Sirius' feet. He reached down and picked it up. He started to hand it back to her, but, as her fingers found it, he pulled it back.

"Who's this from?" he asked examining the handwriting on the envelope. There were only the three letters making up Aly's name to offer him an hints to whom it was from.

"Lily's mom," Aly said simply, her arm still outstretched.

His face became soft as he asked, "What is it?"

"She wrote me a note before she died," Aly said blandly.

He looked at her and asked, his voice light, "Can I read it?"

Aly blinked a few times and then shrugged, "Sure."

He carefully pulled it out and unfolded it. She watched his brown eyes scan the page, watching as emotion filled them. He finished and looked up at her, studying her face for a moment before speaking. "So, what have you decided to reach out and take?"

Aly's eyes went wide as she asked, "Why do you ask that?"

He chuckled, but smiled kindly, "I know you. I'd bet money that that was the thing that stood out to you."

She smiled at him. He certainly did know her.

"So, tell me," he said, handing her the letter back, "What have you set out to conquer?"

Aly lowered her eyes, "You."

He was clearly taken aback. "Me?"

"Why do you think I came to you with an ultimatum?"

He smiled wickedly.

She looked at him and glared in a playful way, "Shut up." She stared lovingly at the letter for a few seconds before carefully putting it away.

"Come here," he said holding out his arms.

She got up without hesitation and slunk into his lap.

"You miss her?" he asked.

"Yes," Aly mumbled into his chest.

"She'd approve you know. Of this. Us."

"What?" Aly sat up, and Sirius smiled at her.

"Remember that dinner we had between 2nd and 3rd year. Well, you wouldn't remember dinner, but the day anyways."

Aly nodded.

"Well, she told me that she wanted me to take good care of you."

"But we weren't…"

"She knew it would happen. Or at least, I assume she knew it would happen."

Aly felt her heart swell with happiness and cuddled into his chest. He rocked her as he smoothed her hair.

Aly felt herself starting to drift off, comfortable in his arms. However, she was woken up completely by his arms tightening around her and his nose grazing her temple.

"Sirius, we're in the common room!" she exclaimed giddily, feeling drowsy.

"So?" he whispered into her hair.

Aly sat up and looked around. They were actually all alone in the common room. The question was how long would it be that way? But did it really matter? They weren't hiding the fact that they were together anymore.

Before Aly could make up her mind on the situation, Sirius took control. He swung her around so that she was straddling his lap and cupped his hand around the nape of her neck. He bent her head down so that she was kissing him. Aly's mind went blank and she felt no need to try and pull back together her sting of thoughts. All she knew was she wanted him to keep kissing her like this.

She put both her hands on the back of his head and relished in the fact that she knew she was the only girl in the castle who would be able to do that from now on.

Their focus was deep into what they were doing and neither heard the portrait hole swing open.

"What the ---?!"


	47. What?

"What the--?!"

Aly pulled away from Sirius, her eyes tightly closed, and cursed.

Sirius' face had lost it's color.

"What the hell is going on?!" James yelled.

Aly looked over her shoulder at James and, to her surprise, Lily, who both looked shocked.

James' face was red as he began to sputter, "Wha,wha,wha?!"

"Dude," Sirius, said without looking at him, "Breathe."

"Don't tell me what to do," James snapped, finding his tongue.

"Well, you're freakin' out," Sirius pointed out.

"I have every right to be freaking out!" James shouted at him.

Sirius snorted in response.

"What the hell is going?" James asked again.

Aly took that as her cue to step in, "Well,"

James held out his hand, the other hand was over his eyes, as he announced, "I can't hear you while your sitting on his lap."

Aly sighed, climbed off of Sirius, and stood. "Like I was saying,"

James cut her off and called out loud towards the ceiling, "Sirius, tell me what is going on."

Aly looked at her boyfriend. He wasn't taking James reaction very well. He stood, and Aly took his hand and squeezed it.

"So," Sirius started, starring down James, "As you can plainly see, we are together now."

James snorted.

"And you better get over your problem," Sirius ordered.

James squinted at him, and said through clenched teeth, "I thought we had talked about this."

"We had," Sirius said back in the same strained voice. It was as if they were trying to have a conversation without anyone else hearing it.

"You were over this."

"I was."

"Then what happened?"

It was Lily who broke up their talk. "How did this happen?" Everyone jumped at the sound of her voice. They had all forgotten she was there.

Aly looked at her and said, "Not sure exactly sure."

"When did this all start?" Lily looked more hurt than anger. James, on the other hand, was still red in the face.

"Well," Aly thought back through the strange trip that had been hers and Sirius' relationship. "Technically, it started 2nd year." She looked up at Sirius for confirmation, and he smiled back at her.

"Puh-lease," James groaned and moved over to Lily. Whispering began between the two of them. They were apparently discussing things, James' hand movements wild, Lily looking very torn.

Aly heard James say something about how Sirius could do better, and Sirius moved over to him to correct him. James held up his index finger which stopped Sirius in place, half between where James and Lily stood and where Aly stood.

Lily seemed to perk up some courage and was arguing with James. They weren't yelling at each other, more like talking aggressively. However, it was enough to suck Aly into one of her spells.

The edges of scene she was watching blurred. She waited for everything to go black, knowing that fighting it was useless, but it never did. Instead, the scene stayed exactly the same, only it's occupants changed. James and Lily seemed to age right before her eyes. They continued to argue but they looked about 10 years older. Aly finally felt her feet lose their hold on the floor and hit the ground with loud bang.

"Ahh," she groaned in pain as her skull hit the floor. She heard feet as Sirius was over her.

"Als," he looked extremely upset.

"I'm fine," Aly mumbled, holding out her hand to be helped up. Sirius didn't take it though.

"What'd you see?" he whispered.

Aly closed her eyes in annoyance and pushed herself up. "Thanks for your concern."

He pulled her to her feet. "I was just asking."

Aly rubbed her head and avoided looking at James and Lily. "I'm going to go to bed."

"Good," James commented venomously.

Sirius sent him a look of disapproval before asking Aly. "Are you sure?"

Aly nodded, but stopped as her head sent shots of pain in protest. "Yes." She headed for the stairs, her soft pillow the only thing on her mind. Sirius grabbed her by the elbow to stop her before she made the climb.

"Are you really ok?" he asked.

She smiled at him, "I'll be fine. See you tomorrow?"

His eyes were soft with concern as he said quietly, "Yeah. Good night." He kissed her on the tip of the nose.

He turned to leave, and Aly suddenly remembered what had her worried earlier. She grabbed him by the shirt, and he turned to look at her.

"Don't," she said almost in a panic.

His eyes questioned her.

"Don't go see him. Not when he's the way he is."

Sirius smiled at her, realizing what she was talking about. "No worries."

"Sirius, please," she pushed.

He licked his lips. "I have to go." The look in Aly's eyes made him explain. "I can't let James get to the other two without me there."

Aly realized what he was saying about James was right, but it didn't ease her concern about the werewolf that would be there.

"Aly, go to sleep. Feel better. I'll see you tomorrow."

Aly nodded and went up the stairs. Lily followed not far behind her.

"Aly," she said simply.

Aly was laying down on her bed, not bothering to change.

"Yeah?" she mumbled.

"I still don't understand--"

Aly propped herself up on her elbow and asked, "Can we talk about this tomorrow?"

Lily looked hurt, but nodded.

Aly feel back onto her pillow and waited for sleep to come. However, it was restless when it came, filled with images of bodies surrounding a werewolf somewhere in the forbidden forest.

XxXxX

The next morning, Aly's head felt no better. She headed to breakfast alone and found Hagrid standing in the front hall, wringing his hat between his hands.

"Hey, Hagrid," Aly greeted him.

Hagrid smiled at her, but it was clearly forced.

"What's going on?" Aly asked cautiously. She knew from experience that Hagrid looking uncomfortable usually lead to something unpleasant, like when he decided to try to raise Glumbumbles for their fluid and ended up knocking himself out for 3 days.

"Got a favor to ask ya," he said shyly.

"Ok."

"Can ya watch Fang for me? Just for a lil bit. Got important business to take care of. On orders of Dumbledore." He puffed out his chest proudly but continued to stare down at Aly unsure of her answer.

"Is that it?" Aly asked, expecting much worse.

"Yea. Wat ya expect?" he asked.

Aly just shook her head and told him, "I'd be happy to watch him for you."

"Aly, you're the best. 'E only needs to be taken out 3 times a day, but 'e likes it if ya let 'im wander into the forest a lil. 'E likes to test 'is boundaries. But don't let 'im wander too far."

"I won't," Aly promised. "When do you expect you'll be back?"

Hagrid didn't meet her eyes as he told her, "Dunno. Couple days, I suppose."

Aly didn't believe him, but bid him a good day before going in to eat breakfast. She ate very little, the throbbing still pulsating throughout the back of her head. She finally gave up trying to stomach breakfast, threw down her spoon, and went to see the nurse before her first class.

"What did you do?" the nurse asked shining her lit up wand wand into her eyes.

"I fell backwards," Aly said trying to blink away the spots left by the light.

The nurse tapped her foot, holding Aly's wrist between her fingers, and watching her watch. Aly had only seen these type of things done on medical shows she'd seen at Lily's house. It brought on a sudden bout of sadness as she recalled that one of Mrs. Evans' favorite soap opera's was about a hospital.

Aly sadness quickly turned to anger as she saw her father enter the hospital wing. That explained why the nurse was doing the strange muggle things; she had been stalling.

"Good morning, Alyson," he greeted her with his usual smile.

Aly frowned at him.

"What brings you here this fine day?" he asked.

Aly's frowned deepened as she said, "I fell."

"Fell?" his eyebrows went up. "What caused this fall?"

Aly flinched at the nurse probed the back of her head with her fingertips.

"I lost my balance," Aly said through clenched teeth.

"What did you fall onto?" the nurse asked her.

Aly turned to face her, thankful to have an excuse to not looking at the headmaster, "The common room floor."

"Of which common room?" she asked, writing something down.

"Why should that matter?" Aly asked suspiciously.

"Well, it matters a great bit. The Hufflepuff and the Slytherin rooms both have harder floors. The Ravenclaw room has lots of carpet and the Gryffindor tower has lots of throw rugs on hardwood. So, it is with good reason I ask which room," she explained patiently.

Aly, having never though about that, answered, "Gryffindor."

The nurse nodded and asked, "Did anyone see you fall?"

"Why?" Aly was getting aggravated by the question.

"They would be able to give me some answers you couldn't supply," the nurse said calmly.

"Like what?"

"Aly," Dumbledore cut her off, "The questions are to help figure out what is wrong with you."

"I know what's wrong with me," Aly snapped at him, "I have a headache because I fell backwards in the Gryffindor common room last night. Who was there? James Potter, Lily Evans, and Sirius Black. I got up right after I fell and went to bed. I woke up this morning so clearly it isn't a life threatening ailment. So can you please give me something to stop the throbbing so I can go to class?"

The nurse scribbled all of this down and disappeared.

"Was that so hard?" Dumbledore asked still smiling at her.

"What is your problem?" Aly snapped. "Are you having everyone in the castle trail me?"

Dumbledore looked very amused. "I figured you would have caught on to this before now."

Aly felt her anger swell to a bursting point, and she jumped up. "I'd ask you to stop but you won't. So, I'll tell you this, shove off. Leave me alone. And stop trying to control every part of my life!"

She stormed out of the room, completely ignoring the fact that she forgot the potion for her head.

She slammed her book bag down on her desk as she took her seat in Slughorn's class, which had already started. Lily had pulled her seat up next to Melanie and Mary's cauldron. Slughorn came over to give her instructions. "You can join up with someone," he advised.

But Aly shook her head. "I work better alone."

XxXxX

Aly collapsed onto a couch after class that day. Her head still hurt, and, on top of that, so did her hands. Fang took a little to eagerly to the forest, and Aly's hands paid the price as she held onto his leash for dear life.

She wanted desperately to go back to the nurse, but didn't want to deal with the possibility of seeing her dad again. If Lily wasn't avoiding her, she would've asked her for help, but Aly was pretty sure she was still upset about the Sirius thing.

So, she laid on the couch and waited. She figured eventually a numbing would take over, and she would just have to wait it out until it did.

She heard someone come over to her, and the voice that greeted her was not the deep male voice she had hoped for. Instead it was high pitched and giggly. Aly opened her eyes and saw Mary standing over. "Can we talk to you?" she asked. Aly heard Melanie giggle with her so she must've been close as well.

"'Bout what?" Aly grumbled.

She watched as Mary turned to look at Melanie, both girls giggled, and Mary turned back and said, "Logan."

Aly sat up a little to quickly than she should've, and she grabbed her head as she gasped, "What?"

"Look," Mary said impatiently, "I know he's your ex-boyfriend or whatever, but he's hot. And I need details."

Aly stared at her for a few seconds and before she could form an answer to give, Sirius walked into the common room, and, suddenly, the two girls attention was no longer on Aly.

Aly watched as the two girls scurried over to him and a flurry of eye lashes and giggling overwhelmed her boyfriend. She rolled her eyes at the scene and fell back onto the couch. She closed her eyes, but her ears kept a very close listen in on what was going on across the room. Mostly the girls wanted to know if Sirius had any plans for later. He shrugged them off and made his way over to her. The two girls followed him over.

"How are you feeling?" Sirius asked her.

"I'm fine," Aly told him, very aware of the two girls standing near them.

Sirius looked up at the girls who were standing behind the couch listening eagerly. "Do you need something?" he barked.

The two girls were taken back by this sudden outburst of anger. They both quickly shook there heads.

Sirius calculate quickly and told them, "Let me finish up here with Aly, and I'll meet you in the library in about 5 minutes."

"Both of us?" Mary squealed.

"Sure," Sirius said with a wink.

Both girls giggled and scurried out of the room.

"What would you do with both of them?" Aly asked not able to phantom why that prospect would be exciting to anyone.

Sirius ignored her question and asked again, "How are you feeling?"

It didn't escape Aly's notice that he ignored her, but answered, "I said I'm fine." She closed her eyes and crossed her arms across her chest.

"You looked awfully mad this morning."

"I went to the nurse," she started, but he cut her off.

"Why?"

Aly licked her upper lip and said, "My head."

"What?" His eyes were swimming with worry.

"It still hurts, but that wasn't why I was mad."

"Did the nurse give you something? For your head, I mean."

"She was going to til my dad showed up," Aly said bleakly.

She heard him breathe an "Oh."

Aly turned her head to look at him and studied his face. He squirmed under her intent gaze over his person. "What?" he finally asked.

"I don't see any scratches or marks or anything."

"Why would I have any of those?"

Aly mind was still running wild as scene to scene of him being mutilated by a werewolf ran through it. "Didn't you go see Remus last night?"

He looked peeved by this questions and asked, "How do you even know about Remus?"

Aly rolled her eyes, and he patronized her by saying, "You really need to stop doing that. Your eyes are gonna get stuck like that."

Aly stuck her tongue out at him and answered his question, "I don't see what the big deal is. I've known about Remus since 2nd year."

"2nd year?!" He was as shocked as Remus had been.

"Why do people seem to think I don't notice things?" Aly asked exasperated.

"You clearly don't notice everything," Sirius commented offhandedly. "Or else you'd know why I don't have any scratches."

"What?!" This had sparked Aly's attention, and, again, she sat up way too quickly than she should have. Her hand flew to her forehead as she leaned forward trying to stop the spinning. She mumbled to herself, "Way too much excitement for one day."

"What does that mean?" Sirius asked leaning to the side to look at her face.

She looked at him between curtains of curls and explained, "Before you came in, Mary and Melanie wanted to know info on Logan. He's apparently hot now."

It was Sirius' turn to roll him eyes.

"You can't do it if I can't," Aly said pushing her hair back to see him as she scolded him.

He, in return, stuck out his tongue.

Aly wrinkled her nose in response and groaned as a throb went through her head.

"Alright," he stood quickly.

Aly glanced at him. "What?"

"Lay down. I'll be back."

She frowned at his back as he disappeared. She sat staring at the portrait hole waiting for his return. To her displeasure, it was James and Peter who were next to enter the common room. James stopped and stared back at her. Peter looked at James oddly. He seemed to not know what was going on. Aly really wished she had heard what had happened after she had gone to bed last night.

Sirius returned and found James and Aly still staring each other down. He brushed past James and handed Aly a small vile of pinkish fluid. "Drink this," he directed, sitting down on the coffee table again.

Aly pulled her eye sight off of James, took it and gulped it down without question. Within seconds, she felt the pain in her head disappear. She looked at Sirius, "Thanks."

"I went to Slughorn. No dad necessary."

Aly smiled grateful that he understood her concern and aggravation with involving her father. She looked at him as he ran his fingers through his hair. "Can we talk?"

"Aren't we already?" he asked with a smile.

"Privately," she stressed, her eyes wandering over to James who had taken his seat at the Marauder's table with Peter.

Sirius saw where her eyes were and nodded. He offered his hand to help her up and she suggested, "We can go to Hagrid's. I have to let Fang out anyways."

Again, he nodded and they walked silently through the castle.

Once outside, Aly started in on her questions without preamble. "What happened with James last night?"

"Nothing," Sirius said, shoving his hands into his pockets, his shoulders going up stiffly.

"Really?" Aly asked skeptically, hopping into footprints already left by other student in the snow.

"He kept quiet. We haven't talked about it since."

This struck Aly as odd, but she kept on with her questions. "Why do you call each other Padfoot and Prongs?"

He smiled wryly, "Just nicknames."

"What do they stand for?"

Sirius seemed to struggle before telling her, "I'm Padfoot. James is Prongs. Then there's Wormtail and Mooney. I'll leave it to you to figure who is who." He was joking with her even though she could clearly see that he was upset.

They had reached the small hut that Hagrid resided in, and, as Aly opened the door, Fang bounded at them and took Sirius down. Aly clasped his leash onto him as Sirius served as a distraction. Fang, with only a small tug from Aly, headed for the forest, and Sirius came up and took the leash from her. He managed to control the huge boarhound better than Aly could.

Sirius was deep in his own head when Aly told him, "You should fix things with him."

"I know," he said. "It's just not that easy." He moved his head to show that he was trying to rearrange and sort out his thoughts. "There's a history that can't just be forgotten over night with him."

The cold wasn't too bad with the wind gone, so, Aly stopped and leaned against a tree. "What history?"

Fang tried to take Sirius deeper into the woods, but Sirius planted his feet and made a strange noise at the dog, and Fang pulled him no further.

"You know what I'm talking about," Sirius told her.

Aly's face told him that she didn't.

"2nd year? The lake?"

"Well, I know about that," Aly said, hurt by his angry tone.

"You know what that started."

Aly's oblivious look forced him to expand, "Kaylynn. Ellen. Meaghan. Carla. Etc. etc."

Aly's brow creased in confusion. What did these girls have to do with her? "I don't see--"

Sirius' patience had apparently snapped. "It's because of you! All of it!" he yelled. "I would've never if you hadn't."

"Hadn't what?" She stood up off of the tree, her eyes blazing with fury.

She sputtered in coherent syllables before yelling,"Brainfart!"

Aly felt anger rip through her. She stalked over and snatched the leash from his hand. Fang, who had lain down and had taken up whining, jumped up happily and followed her.

"Aly," Sirius called after her, realizing he had made a big mistake in his choice of words. She ignored him, feeling so hot that she wouldn't have been surprised if steam had shot out of her ears. She lead Fang back to into the house and got him a bone from the cupboard which she slammed shut. He began to whine at the noise but it turned into barking as Aly closed the front door behind her so hard the windows on the small hut shook.

"Aly," Sirius tried again, standing in the snow. Aly moved past him and headed back towards the castle. How dare blamed her for his years of hussying himself around!

"Will you listen to me?!"

She turned on her heel and came face to face with him. He jumped back in surprise. He hadn't expected her to stop.

"What other misguided decisions are you going to blame me for?"

His anger flared up in response to that and he yell back at her, "Do you honestly think that I struck out with the intention of becoming what I've become?! Do you think that I was ready for that to happen to me? And, yes, as a matter of fact, I will blame you for my 'misguided decisions.' I wanted you. Every girl I passed along was just a way to ease the pain. And just for your information, it never worked."

Aly felt her heart flutter. He was admitting something he probably swore to himself he'd never say aloud. He had wanted her. But why hadn't he just said something?

"And then," he continued, extreme hatred filling every word, "You hooked up with that prat, _Logan_," he spat the word and Aly's jaw quivered despite herself, "And I had to watch you lose yourself and take his shit. He made you distance yourself from me, and then he hurt you. I was about ready to kill him and I would've too. He's lucky to still be alive to be wasting oxygen." His eyes blazed with a hatred Aly had never seen before.

But something raged inside of her, and she set her jaw with quite a bit of will power and snapped, "You're the one who always said we couldn't be together."

"Because I got caught up in my life style. I was never good enough for you, seeing what I come from, and then I became this man whore,"

"You're not," she interrupted.

He waved his hand to dismiss her comment, "The point is I became even less worthy." He looked up at her, his voice softening, "And now here you are. Telling me that you think I'm worthy. And I don't know what to do cause I still don't deserve you. And James won't let me keep you cause of all the pain not having you caused me."

"I didn't know." Her heart swelled painfully.

"Alyson," Sirius said. Even though it was the first time she had ever really heard him use her full first name, she wouldn't, or couldn't, meet his eyes.

"Look at me please."

She did, feeling as if he had placed a huge weight on her shoulders.

"All of that is in the past," he told her, and with a small smile said, "I've got you now. And that's all that matters. I can let the past be the past. James is just going to take sometime."

"Is that what his problem with me is?"

Sirius smiled sadly at her observation. "He has always unfairly blamed you for any mood I've ever been in. Not to say that you didn't actually cause many of them."

Aly lowered her eyes and processed this. "Is this why you two quit talking in 3rd year? Because of me?"

Sirius shrugged. "I always knew that you were special. From the first time I met you."

"We were eleven," Aly argued.

"So?" he said, "I knew you were special. I just couldn't put my finger on what it was."

"Do you know now what it is?" Aly was intrigued.

"Because your my other half."

"Lame," Aly said with an eye roll, thinking he was joking. Apparently, he wasn't.

He snapped angrily, "I said stop that. You are unbelievable." He was clearly very upset with her response. "I open up and tell you something very personal and revealing and you make some snarky comment and roll your eyes." He ran his fingers through his hair, cursed, and walked away from her.

Aly felt her insides twist. She hadn't meant to upset him. Aly looked off away from Sirius, unable to handle the feelings she had when she put her eyes on him. The forest looked pretty in the soft light of dusk. She stared at it for a moment, and something occurred to her. Something she could share with him, something that would make her just as vulnerable as he had been.

She took off into the snowy evening.

He must've heard her move because he asked, "Where are you going?" When she didn't respond, he called angrily after her, "Aly, come back here."

When she kept her path straight towards the the forest, he came running up behind her so fast she was unaware of how he had caught up. He took hold of her shoulders, "We can't just go wandering into the forest. At night. Alone." He shook her gently as he as he said this.

Aly raised her chin in defiance. "Don't you trust me?"

Sirius wavered only slightly, "I trust you, just not the things in there."

"Not so brave without your boyfriends are you?" Aly mocked. This worked exactly as Aly had hoped.

"I'm plenty brave. I'm just worried about you," he said defensively.

"I can take care of myself, thank you very much." She set off again.

She passed him and thought she heard him whisper, "But you don't have to anymore," before he followed her. He tried to keep a very close hold on her, but she moved ahead of him, just out of his reach. She pushed though the trees that where weighted down with snow.

"Aly," she heard him whine, sounding more like his usual self.

She stopped in the clearing. She hadn't been here in so long. Not since . . . her heart sunk. Not since she had brought Logan here. She cursed herself in her head over and over. Why would she bring Sirius here when she had shared this with Logan? He was bound to be hurt by that.

She turned to look at him. He wore almost the same look of confusion that Logan had, and Aly's heart sank even deeper. He walked around the stone, examining it as it glowed. "What is this?"

"A moonstone," she said downtrodden.

"Really?" his eyebrows went up. "How'd it get here?"

Aly felt her spirits perk a little at his interest in it. "Dunno."

"Did you find it?" he asked, holding his hand over the stone, careful not to touch it.

"No," Aly said softly, "My mom did."

This grabbed his attention, and he turned his head to look at her. "Your mom?"

"Yeah."

"And you're sharing it with me?" he asked unsure.

"I wanted to give something back," she explained. "To show you something very special to me."

He turned back to the stone and announced, "They have one of these in the Department of Mysteries." This was not what Aly had expected him to say.

"Yah," she said slowly, "It's part of this one."

"Wow." He looked amazed.

Aly looked at it as well, letting herself get caught up in the swirling patterns of the ancient rock. "It's beautiful, isn't it?" she asked him, not taking her eyes off of it.

"Yeah," he commented softly, not looking at the rock, but, rather, at her.

She looked up and caught his eye. He turned away quickly, almost shyly, and asked, "How does it do that? The colors--"

"The full moon doesn't just change Remus, you know," Aly said with a small smile.

Sirius' head shot up towards the sky.

"Three days right?" Aly asked him. He looked at her in wonder. "I'd never ask Remus about it, but I bet the moon effects him for three days."

Sirius nodded, his mind calculating.

"The full moon," Aly explained, trying to to get his attention back, "Makes the colors swirl. Normally, it's just whitish. That's why it's moonstone. My mom thought it had some sort of healing power. She came here a lot when she was pregnant."

Aly had moved towards him as she said this and was right next to him as he asked, "How do you know?"

"She kept journals about the cycle of the stone," she explained. "Do you want to touch it?"

He looked thrown off by this question. Aly nodded encouragingly, "It's alright. Go ahead. Touch it."

He did as instructed, and the stone's color swirled before turning red.

"You're distracted," Aly announced.

"Why do you say that?"

"The stone knows," she said smiling at the expression on his face, "You can't hide things from it. Red means your distracted. Blue means your head is clear. Green is happy."

"What color are you?" he asked. She came up next to him and put her hand right next to his. The stone turned a deep purple and shocked them both. They both pulled back in pain.

Aly look at him before looking back at the stone. "It's never done that before." She placed her hand on the stone, alone this time. "Well, yeah, it's brown."

"What's that mean?" he asked as he went very still. If it was at all possible, Aly would've sworn she saw his ears perk as well.

"Puzzled," she explained. "Which makes sense since I have no idea why it did that." She walked around the stone. "Maybe it's because two people were touching it. I don't think there has ever been two hands on it from two different people at the same time." She was talking more to herself than to him. "My mom never brought anyone here. I don't even think my dad knows about this place. The only time there were two people here was when I brought Logan, and he certainly didn't feel a need to touch the stone." Aly bit down on her cheek as she contemplated this strange situation.

"You brought Logan here?" Sirius asked, not really paying any attention to her, his body still stiff and alert.

"Yes," she said, studying him. "It was daylight though. No magical colors or anything. He didn't even really care about the stone. He just wanted to ---" Aly stopped short remembering that with Logan the stone was more of a thing to be leaned against than a thing to be observed.

"We should go," Sirius announced.

"I'm sorry," Aly said quickly, coming over to him. "I hadn't meant to bring you somewhere I had taken Logan. It's just this is important to me and I wanted to share it wit--"

He had placed a finger over her mouth. "We'll come back."

She smiled, "Really? You don't care about the whole Log---"

"We'll come back," he announced, "When it's safer."

"Safer?" she asked as he pulled her back through the trees. The harsh wind had returned, blowing snow at them, off of the ground, from all directions. He was dragging her towards the school as quickly as he could, but Aly's legs were shorted than his and slowed them down.

"You're hurting me!" she exclaimed as his tight grip cut off blood flow to her fingers.

"You're gonna feel a whole hell of a lot more pain if you don't hurry up," he barked. He began to mutter to himself, "Knew we should've left earlier. Knew it!"

A breeze fluttered through a near by tree and then the air stood still, silent. The event that happened next happened so quickly Aly wasn't even sure if what she saw was real. She thought she saw the Whomping Willow stand completely still. Which would never happen. The tree had been planted right before she started school so she didn't really know much about it. Except, she knew that it would savagely beat anything or anyone who got near it. So she thought she was seeing things as it came to a complete stop.

She felt Sirius suddenly let go of her. She looked to see why he had suddenly quite being so overprotective. However, he was no where to be seen. Aly heard a bark and then a terrible roar that made the hair on the back of her neck stand on end.

She turned in horror to see a full sized werewolf coming at her. It was suddenly tackled by a large, black dog. Aly watched the two wrestle. She wanted to run, but her feet were frozen in place.

A deer appeared near the scene. It began to clomp it's hooves angrily, as if it were yelling at Aly, but she still couldn't move.

The dog was thrown, and a loud whimper excavated from it. The wolf continued at her. She was, without a doubt, it's target.

Suddenly, sense returned to her, and she shot an angry spell at it. It caused the beast to be pushed back and stunned slightly, but it came charging back at her.

She thought for sure that she was going to die and felt a sudden ping of pity for Remus. He was going to be so upset when he found out he had accidentally killed her. Her feet went up from under her, and she closed her eyes as she waited for death. However, the thing that had knocked her down had large, soft paws. The dog had knocked her back and was now standing protectively in front of her. It's teeth was bared and it lunged.

Aly rolled over and took off running. However, with a snarl and rip, she felt a searing pain in her back, and she fell flat on her stomach. There was a snarling, a cracking, and a whooshing of the wind.

Aly rolled onto her back, letting the snow ease the pain. She saw the Whomping Willow come back to life. It was the only sound she could hear, but suddenly, without warning, Sirius was standing over her. His hair was disheveled and his face pale white.

"Oh god," she heard him moan as he picked her up. He sounded very far away. He carried her inside. Aly had so many questions, but none would form. The only one that reached her lips was, "What?"


	48. Back in the Hospital Wing

So this took me, like, forever to write. Sorry! But at least it's here. I should hopefully have the next chapter up much sooner than this one. I've just been so, so busy! Be sure to review! The more I get the quicker I'll repost!

XxXxX

The next morning, the students who were unfortunate to have to first trek through the snow to the greenhouses were met with an unnerving sight. Professor Sprout summoned for the headmaster and headmistress to come investigate the scene.

The snow was bright red in certain spots and sticks and leaves were scattered all over the scene as well as fur.

"Just animals," Dumbledore announced to the students who were still gathered around. And that was the story given to the rest of student body followed by postings to stay out of the woods.

Since Professor McGonagall had missed her first class, it escaped anyone of importance's notice that Sirius and Aly were not there.

Aly woke with a gasp as the pain hit her like a train. Sirius was up with a start. Aly remained very still, hardly breathing, trying to decide if moving was a good idea.

"Aly?" Sirius looked as if he had been to hell and back throughout the night.

"What's wrong?" she asked him, unaware of anything except the unidentified pain. She didn't even know where she was.

"You're awake?" his voice cracked as he looked at her like she was a ghost who had just appeared through the wall.

"Yes," Aly told him trying to assess where she was. She had never seen this place before. She was laying on her right side, and Sirius had moved, from behind her, to right beside her. He was disheveled and had scratches on his face which had scabbed over due to his ignoring of them. He had blood all over the bottom of his shirt. It didn't occur to Aly that it was hers.

"Aly," he asked quietly but desperately, "Can I take you to the hospital wing?"

"Sure," she said without conviction. She didn't really care either way.

"Really?" he perked up.

"If you think I need to go."

He hesitated before asking, "What about your dad?" He clearly didn't want to change her mind with this question. If Aly's mind wasn't so cloudy, she would've truly appreciated it. But in her present state, she just told, "Do what you think us best."

He disappeared for a minute and wrapped her in something when he returned to her side. She recognized the material her cocoon was made of as James' invisibility cloak. For a split second, she wondered if James knew Sirius had it, but, as he lifted her, the pain hit her hard and the thought left her mind.

They made it to the wing without passing anyone. Sirius placed her on a bed, but, before he could unwrap her, the nurse pouncing on him.

"You need something?" she asked, taking his chin in her hand and moving his head side to side to look at his cuts. "Your cuts look fine. Dirty but fine." She turned to gather some cleaning antiseptic and small bandages for his face. With her back turned, Sirius gently unwrapped Aly. She was facing the door of the wing with her back facing the nurse.

The next thing Aly heard was a very loud gasp and a drop of something glass.

"What..." the nurse came over, and Aly felt her hand on her back. It felt icy cold. "What..."

"My thoughts exactly," Aly mumbled.

"Oh! You're awake? Poor thing." She came around to see Aly's face. "At least it didn't get your pretty face," she added kindly.

"Silver lining," Aly mumbled sarcastically.

"When did this happen?" the nurse asked.

"Last night," Aly told her as her eyes closed. The throbbing from the center of her back had picked up. The nurse grabbed Sirius and pulled him to the side.

"Why was she not brought here immediately?" she scolded him.

"She doesn't want her dad involved, and you would've summoned him."

The nurse looked at him tightly. "And she will leave if he shows up. You know she will. And she needs help. So don't tell him. Please."

She hesitated but finally agreed.

Sirius breathed a huge sigh of relief and asked, "Can you fix her? I didn't know how to clean the wounds, and she was bleeding so much. I gave her a Blood-Replenishing Potion to stop it, and I kept the wounds clean but I didn't know what else to do."

"A Blood-Replenishing Potion?"

"Yes."

The nurse stood silently for a second at then said, "Good job. You probably saved her life."

Aly heard the nurse go to her office and return with her clipboard.

She opened her eyes, and saw that Sirius had leaned against the mattress of the bed across from Aly. He said nothing and stared at her sadly.

"What caused this?" the nurse asked, her quill at the ready.

"Werewolf," Aly said simply, watching Sirius shift slightly at the word. The nurse dropped her writing utensil. "Oh goodness. Oh goodness," she mumbled as she picked it up. She stood and shuffled off towards her office.

"Sirius," Aly called to him. He returned to her side. "Can I see it?"

Sirius' face changed to horror. "Why?!"

"I want to see." He looked highly disturbed but grabbed the silver tray from her bedside table, knocking the tissues and water glass to the side. He did the same on the table for bed behind her. He handed her one and held up the other behind her. Aly adjusted her tray and saw the deep rows of slashes that were red and oozing.

"Eww," she wrinkled her nose at the reflection. Sirius put his plate back and took hers and returned it as well.

The nurse returned. "Ready to start the cleaning process?"

"What are you going to do?" Sirius asked turning white. Aly laid silent and waited.

"I've got to scrap out the dead tissue. Then I'll put a potion on it to clean it out. This is gonna take a while. Werewolves are thoroughly magic, even in their claws."

Sirius nodded, disappeared, and returned with a chair that he sank down into.

"I'm ready," Aly announced.

The nurse started, and it was not what she expected. When her cuts from the plants had been cleaned out it had hurt and she knew that this was going to hurt worse. However, there was no preparing her for this. It felt like her back was being ripped open, fresh, again and again. She gasped on the first insertion, but held her tongue as Sirius turned green. He took her hand, and she clung to him in her silent torture.

Finally, after what felt like eternity, Aly felt the cooling sensation of the final wound.

"So, is that it?" Sirius asked, hopefully.

The nurse looked at him sadly as she gently placed gauze over the open wounds. "I'll have to this until the wounds are healed. It will take quite some time."

"Will she look the same?" Sirius asked, and this question tweaked Aly. Aly didn't see or hear the nurse's response, but Sirius' face told her that she might not be.

Aly closed her eyes tightly to keep the moisture from slipping out of her lids.

XxXxX

The nurse had ushered Sirius off to class. He had put up an argument, but lost the battle. So he headed morosely to class. The nurse sent Aly a knowing look as she retreated to her office. Aly laid on her side, bored out of her mind. She tried to preoccupy herself. She tried to name all of the potions Slughorn had told them might show up on the OWLs and what they did. However, Aly could only remember a few without her notes. So, she eventually took to counting the ceiling tiles.

She was almost upset when the nurse reappeared for another cleaning and made her lose count. This cleaning was worse than the first, and, without Sirius there, Aly let the nurse know it.

"Sorry, dear," she told her, "But the skin tries to heal over so I have to reopen the wound every time. And every time, there's more healthy skin that has to be removed. It's only going to get worse with time."

Aly huffed against her pillow, glad that at least this cleaning was over.

"Maybe a nice relaxer potion would help. It might. I'll have to check..." Aly knew the nurse wasn't talking to her as she scurried quickly back to her office, still mumbling to herself.

Aly tried to embrace the pain. However, each throb felt worse than the last, and she decided to take up ceiling tiles again. The nurse reappeared. "I'll I can think of that will possibly help is a sleeping potion. You can hopefully get some rest with this." She placed a small vile of a pale blue liquid on her side table, and came around to see Aly's face. "Are you sure you don't want me to get your dad?" she asked kindly.

"I'm 100% positive," Aly stressed. "I would like to be the one to tell him about all of this. It might make him worry less if I walk in and tell him what had happened." Aly wasn't really worried about her father at all, but she knew that this was the right thing to say to get the nurse to leave it be. What Aly was really worried about was Remus. This would be his last night as a werewolf for the month, and, more than likely, he wouldn't remember what happened. She didn't want the first thing he'd have to deal with when he got back was an overprotective father in the clothes of the headmaster. Aly wanted to get her two sense in first.

"Can I sit up please?" Aly asked.

The nurse looked hesitant, but finally said, "We can try. Let me know if it's too much for you."

So, with a large amount of caution on the nurse's part and only a small added amount of pain to what she was already feeling, Aly was put in an upright position. She didn't move once she was up, but was grateful to have the windows to look out.

"You let me know if it becomes too pa---" The hospital doors opened and, to Aly's great surprise, Logan walked in supporting another Hufflepuff. The nurse rushed away from Aly and over to the boys. Aly said a silent thank you that she was sitting up.

Logan sent her an odd look as he helped the nurse put the drunk looking boy in a bed. "Some sort of spell," Logan told the nurse. "He can't remember anything."

"Alright," the nurse ushered Logan off, starting to look over the boy. Logan, in turn, proceed to look over Aly.

"Hey," he greeted cautiously.

Aly stared at him, unsure.

"They should just make this your bed with as much time as you spend here," he joked.

"And who's fault has that been?" she replied waspishly.

His smile didn't change at her anger. "I've been wanting to talk to you. About that, I mean. There's just usually an army of people who keep you separated from me."

Probably not anymore, Aly thought to herself.

He moved closer the end of the bed, but didn't overstep his boundaries. Aly found this odd, very uncharacteristic of him.

"I wanted to apologize for everything. Sincerely apologize." Aly's face told him that she didn't believe him, so he pressed on, "I never meant to be so physical with you. You deserved better from me."

Aly nodded in agreement.

"I've been working on my anger issues," he told her.

"How?"

"Yoga."

Aly's face cracked a smile at the thought of Logan trying to pull himself into a pretzel.

He continued, encouraged by her smile, "I also wanted to thank you."

"For what?"

"For not ratting me out, even though I deserved it. Who knows what would've happened to my career if you had. So, thank you." Aly couldn't help but believe him, he looked completely and full heartedly sincere.

"Your career?" she inquired. "So, you got that job at the ministry you wanted?"

He nodded with an even bigger smile. "Not the one I wanted when we were together, but one I'll actually enjoy doing. Less pay, but I think I'll survive."

"And you're happy about that?" she asked.

He nodded and ventured, "Are you happy?"

Aly nodded only once but the smile she wore, due to the mental image of Logan stretched to resemble a tree, deepened into a real smile.

He nodded and informed her, "Lily's been upset all day. Amos is going nuts. I figured it had something to do with you. She really needs to talk to you."

Aly said simply, "You know where I am. I won't be leaving anytime soon."

"Why are you here? What happ---"

"Mr. Trentecost," the nurse called for him. He turned away, clearly unhappy to not have an answer. "Take this to Professor Sprout," she handed him a slip of paper and sent him on his way.

"See ya, Aly," Logan called as he left.

The nurse sent an unhappy glance at the back of the boy as he said this.

XxXxX

Aly was getting bored waiting for Sirius. She figured he'd cut at least one of his classes to come back and see her. She had so many questions that were still unanswered. Plus, she missed him. She wondered if he was staying away to keep the nurse from truly noticing that he was with her. But, that didn't really make sense, Aly argued with herself, because they weren't hiding it anymore. But still, they had seemed to come to the unsaid conclusion that Dumbledore didn't need to know. As she sat and argued with herself, Lily arrived at the end of her bed. "Hey," Aly said, trying to hide her surprise. She knew Logan would more than likely tell Lily where she was, but she didn't expect to see her friend show up so soon after seeing Logan leave.

Lily was standing at the end of her bed, glaring at her.

"What's wrong with you?" Aly asked. She knew Lily was upset that she hadn't told her about Sirius, but Aly didn't really think that it constituted an angry glare.

"Are you stupid?" Lily snarled.

Aly blinked hard, not expecting this at all.

"You are making a huge mistake," Lily continued. Aly shook her head, but still found that no words would form on her tongue. "I won't stand by and watch you do this to yourself."

Aly finally found her tongue, and blurted out, "You talk like a crackhead or something."

Lily stared at her hard. "Don't even think about calling me a friend until come to your senses. If that ever happens. Or, more like _when_." She turned on her heel and left in a flounce.

Aly sat in shock. Her mind couldn't believe what had just happened. She knew Lily would be upset, but this? This was not expected at all. Aly felt like crying. She had lost Lily, and Sirius has lost James. Was it going to be worth it if all she and Sirius had at the end of all of this was each other?

Aly pondered sadly, her eyes growing puffy with silent tears. And then something snapped, what did it matter? Why were people always trying to take away what little happiness she had? Could she survive without Lily? Yes, she told herself, she had, and she would again. Just like she was surviving without Mrs. Evans. At the thought of Lily's mother, anger rose in Aly's chest. How could Lily act like this? They were suppose to lean on each other in this hard time. Mrs. Evans was hardly cold in her grave, and they were already turning on one another.

Aly looked out the window and watched the sun move in the afternoon sky.

"You hungry dear?" the nurse inquired.

"Not really," Aly said not removing her eyes from the sky.

"I figured," she said, fluffing her pillows. "Let me know when your appetite returns."

Aly nodded, still far away from reality.

She was so caught up into her own mind that she literally jumped when Sirius sat down on the end of the bed. Aly's back started to spasm in severe pain. Sirius looked at her, worry etched onto every line of his face, but he didn't move.

"How was class?" Aly asked without emotion, wishing she could rub her back to help soothe the pain.

He smiled at her sadly, "Okay, I guess. I told Slughorn that you're sick in bed with the flu and that he shouldn't tell your dad. I'm sure the headmaster knows by now. He shouldn't come looking for you here."

Aly smiled a small smile at him and asked, "What's wrong?"

Sirius merely shook his head.

"James?" Aly ventured.

Sirius shrugged.

"Well, if it makes you feel any better, Lily just broke up with me."

Sirius turned very sad eyes on her.

"It's no biggie," Aly promised unconvincingly, "She said to come find her once we break up."

Sirius looked at her for a moment with knowing eyes before coming up next to her and wrapping his arms carefully around her and rested his chin on her head.

Aly spoke aloud, to no one in particular, "I'm still in…100%. I'm not going anywhere."

Sirius still had nothing to say, and Aly closed her eyes tightly. Her heart had swollen in a painful way. Sirius moved away from her, and Aly knew, without opening her eyes, that he was gone. However, to her surprise, it was his lips on on hers that she felt. This kiss, soft and kind, told her everything he couldn't say. He wasn't going anywhere either.

Aly broke the kiss with a sob. She began to cry into her hands.

"What's wrong?" Sirius asked jumping up immediately. "Are you in pain? I'll get the nurse."

He didn't get a chance because she must've heard Aly's crying. "Back, I see," she said to Sirius as she moved quickly to attend to Aly. "Do you need some pain medicine, dear?"

Aly shook her head, still sobbing. "I'm fine," she gasped.

The nurse looked to Sirius for some sort of explanation, but all he could provide was a shoulder shrug.

"Nothing I can get you dear?" she asked.

Aly shook her head.

The nurse left, checking the bed with the Hufflepuff in it as she went.

"Thank you," Aly sobbed at Sirius.

"For what?" he touched her cheek. Aly couldn't help but notice that he glanced towards the open office door before he did.

"For picking me."

His eyebrows went together. "Of course I did. We've already been over this, Als." His thumb ran up and down her cheek. "I will always pick you."

Aly's crying continued, picking up, and he stated, "This isn't just because of this. What's really wrong?"

"I don't know!" Aly sobbed even harder. Her back was on fire.

Sirius let out a bark of a laugh, and Aly studied him. His laugh was enough to calm her sobs, but it didn't stop her tears. He smiled kindly at her and pushed one of her curls, which had fallen loose, back behind her ear. "Tell me what your thinking," he requested.

This was the opportunity she had been waiting for, but Aly looked at him skeptically and warned, "You won't like it."

"Try me."

"I'm just trying to process the fact that I'm dating a dog."

His face instantly hardened, and his mouth set into a straight line.

"So," Aly wiped her face with her hand, "You're not going to tell me then."

He looked up at the ceiling and said nothing.

"Fine," Aly said, crossing her arms. "Then I won't tell you who visited me today."

This didn't spur his attention. Aly pouted, and, realizing that he had brought her her school books, grabbed her charms book and opened it up. He had marked what she had missed.

Much to her own luck, Logan came in not more than a few minutes later to talk to the nurse about his friend.

"Seems to me that his memory will just have to come back on it's own," Aly heard the nurse tell him. "You can take him back, but keep an eye on him."

Logan helped his friend up and out of the wing, sending Aly a smile and wink on the way. Aly smiled back and continued with her charms.

Sirius' white knuckles appeared over the top of her book for a split second before the book disappeared from her hands.

"Hey!"

Sirius looked scary. He was panting slightly, eyes wide.

"I told you you'd want to know who came to see me," Aly stated matter-of-factly.

Sirius stuttered, "What? Logan...he...why?"

Aly crossed her arms and stated, "You tell me, and I'll tell you."

Sirius mimicked Aly's movements and stared back at her.

"No response? Then fine," Aly told him, "Be a child. I'm going to sleep." She called for the nurse before Sirius could stop her.

"Fighting?" she asked observing the scene going on.

"No," Aly told her. "Just a stalemate. I'd like to have that sleeping potion now."

"Well, I'll need to do another cleaning, but then you can have it."

Aly nodded unhappily but rolled onto her side without hesitation. The more and more the nurse did to her back, the more and more it hurt. Aly couldn't hide her pain and, at that point, she didn't care if Sirius saw. Let him see what she was going through, what his secrets had caused. Maybe that'd break him.

Sirius began to pace as Aly made noises of discomfort. The nurse finished and handed Aly the small vile. Aly looked at Sirius, not sure she wanted to take it and leave things this way. Sirius looked at her, his eyes dark. Aly glared at him and gulped down the potion.

XxXxX

Aly woke to a dark room. She realized that someone had entered the wing. Sirius appeared next to her.

"Hey?" she mumbled, pushing herself up. Her wounds protesting to this movement. He looked at her. He seemed to be highly upset.

"I can't tell you about what happened the other night," he blurted out. "If I could, I would, you know that. I just can't betray their trust. They already think I have, and I can't give them the satisfaction of knowing their right."

Aly frowned in her sleepy state.

"I'm here for you in any way that you need, but I can't tell you any thing about that."

Aly groggily nodded. She had nothing else to say about this. He clearly wasn't going to share. Ever.

"May I ask something of you though," he sat on the edge of her bed, the torture still not gone from his eyes. "I know it's not fair since I can't share with you, but I have to, no, I need to know."

Aly nodded to encourage him along.

"Logan. He . . . And you and I don't, I just, I almost hunted him down just to beat the crap out of him." He looked at her apologetically, and added "But I didn't."

"Why?"

"Because of you. I know you wouldn't want me to hit anyone for no reason. So give me a reason. Please, Aly, tell me if I can or can't hit him."

Aly knew how hard it had to have been for him not to go beat up her ex-boyfriend and told him, "He did nothing worthy of your anger. He merely apologized to me."

Sirius looked unconvinced but promised, "Fine. I won't hit him."

Aly smiled and asked, "Will you come back tomorrow?"

"Of course," Sirius replied in a concerned tone. "Why wouldn't I?"

"What I mean is, will you leave so I can sleep?" Her words ran together since her potion hadn't worn off all the way yet.

"Go to sleep, Alycat." He kissed her on the forehead and vanished. Again, she wondered if James knew he had his cloak. The pain in her back kicked up as she moved back onto her side. She was thankful for the potion because she knew with the way her back felt she'd never get to sleep on her own.

XxXxX

"It's infected," she heard someone say.

"What happened?" a upset voice asked.

"I'm not sure," the first voice replied.

The burning was bad. So bad, Aly wished for death. It had to be better than this. Unless she was dead and this was hell which would make sense with all the burning. Fire. Brimstone. Burning. Pain.

"Aly," Sirius' voice cut through the pain. "She just sent word to your dad."

Yep. It was hell alright.

She felt him take her hand gently, and she clung to it for dear life. She pulled it to her face. His hand was cold against her cheek, a welcomed contrast to the heat of her back.

She heard the hospital wing door slam hard against the wall. She peeked out of squinted eyes. Her dad's face was ablaze with anger and fear.

"Don't leave," Aly mumbled in a whisper to Sirius before closing her eyes.

The nurse ran over to the headmaster, and they conversed quickly and quietly.

Sirius' forehead touched Aly's as he replied, "I won't." Then he stood to face her father, Aly's hand still tightly clutched in his.

"Mr. Black," her father's voice was full of a venom she had never heard before, much like the tone Sirius used when speaking of Logan. "Fancy seeing you here, in this type of situation."

Aly felt his hand clench around hers. "This isn't like that," he said in anger.

"Looks similar to me," her father edged.

"Its nothing like that," Sirius growled.

Aly wondered if Sirius was upset that Dumbledore was talking about something he promised be wouldn't or if it was because he was insinuating that he had lead her to harm.

"Please step away from my daughter."

"No."

Aly didn't open her eyes but she could imagine what father's face must look like.

"Mr. Black, I will only ask you one more time."

Sirius shifted, but Aly knew he hadn't moved. He was loyal to the end.

Aly, who was still holding tightly onto his hand, pleaded in her head, "Please don't go! Please don't go!"

Aly felt a swoosh of a spell on her face and let out a scream. She couldn't help it. It had happened as an instant reaction. She bent her back and coiled in pain. Whatever her father had used had caused her pain to intensify as it hit her exposed wounds.

The nurse abandoned her loyal post next to the headmaster and came to figure out what to do.

"It burns!" Aly screamed.

"Lift her," the nurse announced.

Sirius wrapped him free arm around her upper back, by her neck, where she wasn't hit. Dumbledore took her ankles.

Aly felt herself being lower into something. The cold hit her hard and sent shivers through her.

She visibly calmed down.

"Alright," the nurse announced, "No more spells on an open magic wound." She made the announcement to the room at large as if someone was contemplating trying it again.

Aly heard Dumbledore whispering to the nurse again. Without opening her eyes, she whispered, "Sirius?"

His nose touched her cheek, "Yes?"

"I need some water. I'm rather parched." She smiled slightly.

He chuckled and held her glass up to her. She opened her eyes and tilted her head up. Sirius managed to spill water all over the front of her.

"Sorry," he quickly put the glass down and tried to sop up the water with the bottom of his shirt.

Aly smiled and told him, "I'm fine. What's a little water?"

He stopped and twisted his mouth to the side. "Nurse, we're gonna need a new gown."

The nurse looked and saw Aly trying to lick up the water laying on her collarbone. Sirius laughed at her again. The nurse sent them a look of disapproval before heading to the cupboard in the corner.

"You probably should lay still," Sirius pointed out to Aly.

"I'm fine," Aly said slightly annoyed.

"You're infected," Sirius corrected.

"Eh," she waved her hand to dismiss the comment.

The nurse returned and looked directly at Sirius as she said, "I'm going to have to undress her."

Sirius moved to take his spot farther away as to not intrude on the spectacle, but Aly refused to let go of his hand. "Stay," she pleaded.

"I'm going over there. I won't be far," he promised.

"Still," she pleaded with wide, blue eyes, "Please."

Sirius sighed unhappily but took his spot next to the bed as to allow Aly to lay back down all the way. He pointed his nose straight up at the ceiling and twisted his mouth again. He was clearly uncomfortable.

"Professor?" the nurse was trying to close the curtain that surrounded Aly's bed, but her father stood in the way.

"I'll stay too," Dumbledore announced, taking a step closer to the bed.

"What?" Aly sat up.

Sirius' hand was on her shoulder instantly, his eyes still glued to the ceiling. "Easy does it."

Aly laid back down, but still argued, "This is really not necessary."

"I realize that," her father stated his eyes glancing at Sirius.

"It makes me uncomfortable to have you watch me get undressed," Aly stressed.

Dumbledore's eyebrows went up as he, again, glanced at Sirius. In response, he mimicked Sirius and stared at the ceiling. However, he did it with a smile on his face.

The nurse muttered something about "Being such children," as she removed Aly's hospital gown, unhooked Sirius' hand, took the old one off, and slide the new one on. Sirius' hand found Aly's as soon as the nurse stepped away.

Dumbledore turned to face them, the smile gone as soon as he saw Sirius still neatly attached to his daughter. He turned his attention to his daughter, "So, care to share what happened? And perhaps why Mr. Black is so adamantly attached to you?"

"It's nothing for you to worry about," Aly stated, tugging Sirius closer to her. He moved rather reluctantly.

"You're in the hospital wing. That makes it something for me to worry about," he argued.

Aly shrugged, which ended up being a bad idea. She cringed in pain.

"So again, Alyson, what happened?"

Aly said nothing, raising her eyebrows in a silent challenge.

"Aly, just tell him," Sirius said simply, quietly.

Aly looked at him, the crease forming between her brows, "Why? He doesn't care about me. He just wants to get you in trouble."

"I'm not the one I'm worried about," Sirius stated sadly.

"Oh," Aly realized that he was concerned about Remus.

Dumbledore watched the exchange between them, and instructed coldly, "Mr. Black, you are no longer needed here. I would like to speak to my daughter alone."

"Headmaster," Sirius replied with some edge, "With all due respect, you are no longer wanted here."

Aly felt awe at the fact that he had said this to, not just the headmaster, but her father. She pushed herself up in a sitting position. Sirius moved to push her back down, but she shooed him off. She looked directly at her father and said, "You can leave."

His face dropped, making him look much older. "Alyson, do you know what your saying? Clearly, you're in a lot of pain and---"

"My back in mangled, not my brain," Aly snapped. "I'm perfectly aware of what I'm saying. So here's what's going to happen: you are going to let me handle the Remus situation." He opened his mouth to argue. "If you get involved, I won't allow the nurse to heal me."

Sirius moved to argue this, but she sent him a death glare that silenced him.

"Also," Aly continued, "You will leave Sirius alone. He has done nothing but be nice to me."

"Clearly, he feels at fault if he is here taking care of you," Dumbledore pointed out.

"No--" Aly started but a resounding, "Yes," came from Sirius.

Aly looked at him in shock. So he told her, "Of course I feel guilty, Aly. Why wouldn't I be?" He looked irked by the fact that she was surprised. "I knew what Remus was. I shouldn't have let you anywhere out there when he is in his shape."

Aly frowned at this because she knew what he was saying was how he felt.

Aly turned her attention back to her father. "He will stay with me as long as I wish, and you will do nothing to stop it. Understand?" she pressed.

Dumbledore didn't look convinced.

"I will let you take any course you see necessary about how to make Remus' transformations safer, but he will not be punished for this. I get to tell him what happened."

Dumbledore seemed to take this in consideration before nodding once.

"You can go," Aly said darkly.

Dumbledore nodded sadly, and turned to the nurse before leaving. "I want hourly updates on her progress."

The nurse nodded, and Aly whined with frustration. Dumbledore smiled in triumph and left.

Aly looked at Sirius. "Can you go get Remus for me? He should be back to normal today right?"

"Technically," Sirius said slowly. "He usually stays away the whole week. In order to give himself time to recover."

"Well, I want to see him. Tell him it's important. I'm sure he'll be okay with coming out of hiding a little early."

Sirius studied her. "Shouldn't you try to heal a little bit more before you let him see you? At least get it to change from the yellow back to the red cuts."

"I'm yellow now?" Aly exclaimed.

"Let the infection die down and then you can see him," Sirius stressed.

"Fine," Aly said crossing her arms defiantly. "But I get to be the one to tell him."

"I'll make sure James and Peter know."


	49. Telling Remus

So, so, so sorry that this took FOREVER to get done. It's not nearly as long as I would have liked, but it's something to hold you over. Enjoy!

XxXxX

Aly had to wait the remainder of Remus' week to see him. Sirius was a master at avoiding things, and he seemed determined to put off the event that had to take place.

Finally, Remus returned to classes as normal, and Sirius couldn't put it off any longer.

"Remus will be here after dinner," Sirius told her as he came to bring her her homework from their morning classes.

Aly spent the remainder of her day trying to prepare herself for what she needed to share with one of her best friends. When Sirius arrived after dinner, every possible thing Aly thought she might say flew out of her head. He came and sat down on her bed and took her hand.

"United front," Sirius whispered to her as Remus came strolling in.

"Hey, Aly," he greeted. He sent her a genial smile. However, when he stopped at the foot of her bed, he sent her a knowing smile. "Sirius told me you had something you wanted to tell me."

Aly nodded.

"Let me guess," he said. "You two finally got over your pigheadedness and are finally together?" His smile widened.

"Well, yes," Aly started.

"I know it," he proclaimed excitedly.

"But there's more," Aly stated dolefully.

"Oh god," Remus stated, his jaw dropping.

Aly prepared herself for the worse, but what followed was not what she anticipated.

"Are you pregnant?" Remus whispered.

"What?" Aly could've sworn she heard him incorrectly.

"Is she?" Remus asked Sirius.

Sirius shook his head quickly, but looked to Aly for confirmation.

"NO!" Aly exclaimed. She swatted Sirius as she asked "What is wrong with you?"

"Then what else is there?" Remus wondered.

Aly took a deep breathe, "This has to do with you, Remus."

"Me?" He still hadn't caught on.

"Something happened over the past week," Aly said slowly.

Remus seemed to realize for the first time that he was in the hospital wing as the color left his face. "What happened? Why are you here, Aly?"

Aly looked at Sirius. "Should we just show him?" he asked her. Aly nodded and allowed him to help expose her wounded back. Aly couldn't see Remus' reaction, but the noise he made chilled her to the bone.

He came back around her, "I, I, I, I don't know what to say. I'm so sorry, Aly." He looked at her for one moment, and then stated, "I've gotta go. I've gotta get out of here. I can't be here." He was gone before either Aly or Sirius could protest.

Sirius looked at her for the conformation he needed. "Go. Make sure he's okay," Aly stated helplessly. And, then, he too was gone.

XxXxX

"I need to leave."

"No," the nurse scolded. "You are hardly well."

"But, I need to leave."

Pomfrey sent her a very menacing stare. She fluffed Aly's pillows and tried to make small talk as she started in on her back. "So, Sirius Black?"

Aly said nothing to this.

"I've heard about him," she continued as she cut into Aly's back.

Aly remained silent.

"He spends a lot of time here."

"He feels guilty," Aly snapped. "He thinks he's responsible for all of this."

"Oh, well," the nurse continued unswayed by Aly's argument, "That's not what I got."

Aly's tone turned even more icy, "Well, that's how it is."

"He's considered very good looking by the other girls. I hope none of them get any ideas from you on how to get his attention."

Aly fumed silently. As soon as the nurse finished, she asked, "May I have some sleeping potion?"

Madame Pomfrey looked very happy about this and handed her a vile. She turned to dispose of the cleaning supplies, and Aly dumped the potion onto her mattress under her pillow.

"That's a good girl," Pomfrey said, taking the empty vile and heading to her office. She glanced at Aly, who has faking sleep, before closing her office door.

Aly waited until she heard to door click then she pulled her wand out the side table drawer. She sent a silent spell, and Fawkes appeared in a flash of flames.

Aly sent a glance towards the office door. The nurse didn't seem to hear anything. "Fawkesie, go find Remus."

The bird bent his head in acknowledgement of this request. He left with another flash.

Aly waited impatiently. She needed to make things better. She still didn't know how, but she had try something.

Finally, after what felt like hours, Fawkes returned. The bird landed on the edge of Aly's bed.

"Did you find him?" Aly whispered.

The bird flicked his head as a yes.

"Take me to him."

If a bird could scold, Aly was sure that the look the phoenix gave her would be one. However, never one to disappoint, Fawkes lifted above her, and Aly grabbed his tail.

They left in a flash. The flames were not hot against her skin, but she felt extreme pain. She had traveled like this before, but never with an exposed werewolf wound.

She landed in a dark tree filled place. She was panting slightly due to the pain.

"Aly?!" Sirius nearly jumped out his skin. Aly was glad to see that he was still trying to talk to Remus as well. "What are you--? How? Get back in bed, NOW."

She rolled her eyes at him. "I'm fine."

"No. Go back to bed." Sirius looked up at Fawkes, who had taken to flying in small circles around them. He didn't look as afraid of the bird as usual. "You, bird. Take her home." Fawkes landed gracefully on Aly's shoulder and seemed to question her.

"No," Aly stated. The bird let out a harsh cry, clearly not in agreement with her decision. He took off, flying in circles above them again.

"Can we stay on topic here?!"

Aly looked behind Sirius to see Remus pacing behind him. She hadn't seen him until now.

"Remus, I need to talk to you about this," she told him.

Remus came up behind Sirius, using him as a makeshift shield between himself and Aly.

"Why? Why would you want to talk to me after what happened? What's wrong with you? Did I hit you in the head?"

Aly was expecting this type of reaction. She took a step towards him, and her back seized in protest. Apparently, she really wasn't ready to move around on her own. She tried to hide her pain, but she didn't do a good enough job. Sirius moved to hold onto her. Remus waved his hand in an exaggerated hand movement. Fawkes screeched as Sirius touched Aly.

"You need to go lie down," Sirius stated.

"No," Aly said roughly. "This is more important."

"More important than you healing properly? Sirius asked.

"Yes."

"Ridiculous!" Remus exclaimed. "Utterly ridiculous!" He was pacing again. "I'm leaving. I'm going to just leave school. Go live in solitude like the rest of my kind."

"What?!" Sirius blurted.

"Shut up! Shut up, the both of you!" Aly exclaimed. She was rubbing her temples. Her head had gone fuzzy.

"Whats--" Remus started, but with a "Shh," Sirius stopped him.

"Somethings wrong," Aly stated.

"What is?" Sirius asked her.

"I don't know, but something is going on. Fawkes, take me home. You two, get back to the castle. ASAP." She turned to Fawkes but added politely, "Please."

She grabbed onto the bird and, with searing pain, was back in the hospital wing.

The nurse's office door was open, light steaming into the darkening room. Aly cursed silently. From out in the hallway, she heard, "What do you mean she's missing?!" It was her father's voice. The nurse must've gone to get him when she discovered that Aly was missing from her bed.

"I don't know, sir." Madame Pomfrey sounded terrified.

"Fawkes," Aly whispered to the bird, "Go! Quickly!"

In a burst of flames, the phoenix disappeared just milliseconds before her father came through the door.

He breathed a visible sigh of relief. "She's right here."

"But, but," the nurse sputtered.

Aly wasn't in the mood for her confusion. "What's going on?"

Dumbledore looked at her in intrigue and surprise.

Before he could answer, there was a squeak of rubber as the two boys skidded into the wing.

"What's going on?" Sirius asked, looking at Aly.

"There's been an accident," Dumbledore told them, eyeing Aly also.

"What? Where?" Aly asked, overly alert.

Dumbledore shook his head, "The dungeons." He heaved a heavy sigh before saying, "There were a lot of students in the vicinity." He nodded towards the nurse who took this as a sign to begin preparations. "They'll be here soon." He wouldn't meet Aly's eyes as he said this.

"Lily's one of them," Aly stated. It wasn't a question.

He nodded.

"Well, it's par for the course this week," she sighed slightly. Sirius sank down onto the edge of her bed.

"Should I go assist in some way, Professor?" Remus asked.

"You'll need to help with the Gryffindor head count. They're already one prefect short." He sounded weary.

Remus nodded and left.

Dumbledore looked at his daughter queerly. "How did you know something was wrong?"

"Professor," Sirius interrupted, "What can I do?"

It took Dumbledore a moment to move his gaze from Aly to him. "Stay here. Mr. Lupin will have already counted you." With that, he turned to assist Madame Pomfrey in her preparations.

Sirius seemed to pout next to Aly. "What's wrong?" she questioned.

"Why do I get to miss out on all the fun?" he muttered angrily.

"Fun?!" Aly stated. "Lily's hurt."

"And one of us should be helping." He jumped up.

"No!" Aly exclaimed. She knew she'd go crazy if she let him leave. She had no idea what had caused the explosion or if it was done exploding things. She couldn't let him leave. "Please," she said in a small voice. She didn't really think he'd listen. He was Sirius after all. However, he huffed and sat.

She laid back on the thick mattress, and to her surprise, the cool sheets felt nice on her back, as long as she didn't move too much. She closed her eyes and waited. Sirius sat, swinging his feet absentmindedly.

The doors started to swing open, and commotion filled the room. Aly could sense that Sirius wanted to jump up and help, but he remained loyally next to her. She kept her eyes closed, afraid of what she might see.

When she heard James' voice, she felt Sirius move off of the bed. She opened her eyes and saw James laying a broken looking Lily on a bed.

"This has got to be the worse week of my life," Aly muttered to herself.

Pomfrey was busy with another student so it was McGonagall who was the one who started to look over Lily. Aly sat up and watched in pain. She felt her insides hollow out. If Lily died . . . she couldn't bear to think about it. She couldn't bear to just sit there and watch either. So, she got up. With everyone running around the crowded wing, Aly managed to make it to the hallway without being noticed. She breathed a sigh of relief as she started down the hallway, but a hand closed on her arm.

"No."

Aly whipped around, holding in her pain, and glared at Remus. "Let go of me." She fought against his grip.

"The castle isn't safe yet."

"Let go!" she snarled. When he didn't she stated, "After what you did, you have no right."

"After what I did, I have every right," he said sternly, unflinching. With that he marched her back to the wing. She pouted and glowered as he sat her back in her bed. Sirius, having just then realized that she had gone missing, stopped moving and watched Remus handle her.

"I need to go," she pleaded, seeing Lily again.

"Nope," he stated sitting down next to her on the mattress so that they were side by side. "You're going to stay, and so will I." He placed his arm around her shoulders and leaned back. "Just duck your head if you don't want to watch." Aly didn't comply at first, still angry he wouldn't let her leave. Eventually, however, her head was on his chest, eyes closed tight, and curled around his side. She tried to block out the noises of the accident.

After a while, as the commotion calmed down, she felt Remus move, not from under her, but up towards something.

"Go to bed," she heard him direct. "You probably haven't had much sleep lately."

She didn't hear a response but heard him edge, "Go. I'll stay here."

Aly felt a hand smooth her hair, and peeked up at Remus. He whispered, as to not call attention to the fact that Aly was actually awake, "Sirius left to go get some sleep."

She nodded and asked, "What's going on?"

"Everything has calmed down a bit. You can't see any of the other patients. They all have their curtains closed.

At this piece of information, she uncurled herself from him. "Sorry about that," she mumbled, embarrassed.

He smiled kindly and stood. Aly bit her lip to keep herself from asking a question she still needed an answer to.

Remus sighed and instructed her, "Ask it."

Aly's eyes widened at his perceptiveness.

"Go on," he pushed.

"Are you really going to leave?" She couldn't look at him when she asked, afraid that his answer might really be a yes.

"No," he replied.

Her head shot up. "Really?"

"Yea," he shoved his hands into his pockets.

"You seem upset by this discussion."

He shrugged. Her silence following this forced him to expand.

"I should. However, you showed me that I can't be as bad of a monster as I think I am."

"Me?" Aly questioned.

"Yeah," Remus smiled at her. "When you curled into me earlier, after what I did to you, I realized that I can't be all that bad."

Aly nodded, "See." They smiled at each other, each happy with the other for different reasons.

"You should get some rest," Remus told her.

"You should too."

"I promised Sirius I'd stay," Remus told her.

"I'm a big girl, Remus. Plus, there's not too much trouble I can get into here." She smiled bitterly.

"Alright. Just don't go sneaking off again."

"I promise," Aly told him, her fingers crossed under her pillow.


	50. Leaving and Punching

Ok, again, this took forever. However, I do have a very good excuse. I had exams, finals, a conference to plan for, and I graduated. And as it is now summer, I will try to keep posts closer together.

This chapter was suppose to be all one chapter with 48 and 49 which is why they all kind of dragged. I was lazy when it came to writing, and I wanted to get something posted. So, imagine they are all one, very long chapter. And by long, I mean long. This is my longest chapter to date (15 document pages). But, at least now, we can all move on from here.

Enjoy!

XxXxX

Aly asked the nurse again the next morning, deciding that asking was much nicer than demanding, "Can I leave please?"

"I don't think so," Madame Pomfrey said as she covered her freshly cleaned wounds.

"Please. I'm fine enough to walk. And you clearly have enough going on without me here." Aly explained sweetly.

"When did you walk?" the nurse murmured as she wrote down Aly's hourly update for the headmaster.

"Last night."

"Where did you go?"

"I only got as far as the hallway before a prefect stopped me," Aly said sweetly.

"Then how was your bed empty last night?"

Aly choose to ignore this question, her patience wearing thin. "I want to leave."

Pomfrey stood and said, "No. Maybe tomorrow."

Aly scowled at this, but had to admit that the wing was much more bearable with the other students there. Plus, sitting without pain was welcomed. See, she thought, the moving around had proved to help.

She was happy to see Sirius arrive, and, to her surprise, James was with him. The two were chatting.

"Hey," Sirius greeted smiling. "You seen," he shook his head towards Lily's curtain, "today?"

This peaked James attention as he had taken to looking at the ceiling.

"No," Aly said starting hard at the curtain. "The nurse won't open it. Is she really that bad?" She directed the question to James. She knew he wouldn't sugar coat it.

He was starring hard at the curtain as well. He sent her a sideways glance that told her everything she needed to know. The curtain was closed, not to shield Aly, but to protect Lily.

"If she's that bad off, where is her stupid boyfriend?!" she exclaimed.

James shrugged and moved towards the nurse. She ushered him off. "I have check ups to do. You can wait a few moments."

The two boys leaned against Aly's bed and waited. Aly felt anxious. Lily's curtain was going to be opened.

As they waited, the headmaster entered with the Minister of Magic along with the headboy and headgirl. Sirius stiffened but moved in no other way. Logan sent Aly a smile, and she tried to return it, but was disrupted as the nurse pulled back the curtain on Lily's bed.

Aly strained to see her friend. Pomfrey noticed and quickly pulled it shut. Her head reappeared from within, "You two," she directed towards Sirius and James, "Come here."

They both moved quickly and disappeared behind the curtain. Aly felt even more frustrated.

Logan, seeing an opening, came over to her bed. "You're still here."

"Not by choice," she mumbled staring down the curtain.

"Who's back there? Behind the curtain."

"Lily."

"Lily?" His confusion pulled her away from her staring.

"Yah. You didn't know?"

"No."

"Amos didn't tell you?"

"Amos isn't talking to Lily."

"So? He must know...everyone knows."

"Yes, well..." Logan shrugged.

The two boys returned, both looking rather crestfallen. Sirius glared, and Logan announced, "I better get back." he added as an afterthought, "I'll let Amos know that Lily's here."

"Or don't," Aly told him offhandedly, "Whatever." She was waiting for Sirius' reaction. However, all he did was take a seat on the edge of her mattress.

XxXxX

"Where's Sirius?" a drowsy voice asked.

Aly, who was working a potions essay for Slughorn, looked up in surprise. She had plunged herself into her work when she had heard the curtain pulled back around her friend's bed.

When she didn't reply, Lily repeated her question. Aly shrugged and asked, "Where's Amos?"

Lily returned the shrug. "Why is Sirius ignoring you?"

"Avoiding," Aly corrected, and that was the extent of their conversation. However, Lily's words struck a cord.

Sirius had been ushered out of the hospital wing not long after he had sat down on her bed, his back to her. He had sent her a small wave on the way out. He hadn't returned since. Remus had come to see her. He never had much to say, but at least he had come. She needed to see Sirius.

"I need to leave," Aly told the nurse for the millionth time.

"Maybe tomorrow," Madame Pomfrey said.

"You said that yesterday and the day before that! I have schoolwork to do."

"You can do it from right where you are," Pomfrey scolded and walked away.

Aly scoffed and schemed. She formulated a plan. Remus had told her that Sirius had detention that evening with Stevens.

That evening she left the hospital wing as soon as the nurse finished her round of the room. She knew she wouldn't have much time. Pomfrey had taken to doing hourly rounds of her patients.

She was panting in pain as she finally found Sirius. He dropped his toothbrush when he saw her.

"What the hell are you doing here?" he asked in shock.

"I came to see you," she said, sitting down very carefully. "What are you doing?"

He was covered in green gunk. Aly could guess that he was cleaning out old jars of potion ingredients, but she wanted to take the look of shock off of his face. It didn't leave though.

"Why are you down here?" he asked his shock quickly turning to anger.

Aly ignored him and focused on her breathing. She was really sick of her back hurting.

"Aly, I asked you a question," Sirius barked as he moved towards her.

"You're avoiding me."

He said nothing to this. He reached out to touch her, but pulled back as he saw the goo he had been cleaning was all over his hand. Aly, not seeing the goo, took it as a different type of gesture.

"I don't understand what's wrong," she said to her hands.

"Nothing's wrong," Sirius told her a little too quickly. Aly heaved as sigh, and stood, her back protesting.

"If that's all your going to give me then I'm leaving," she moved towards the door.

Sirius started to make a move to stop her as she came face to face with James. He looked as shocked as Sirius had.

"Sorry, Padfoot," he said bitterly, "Didn't realize you had company."

"He doesn't," Aly corrected and left the room. She looked over her shoulder and saw Sirius watching her. There was an emotion in his eyes she couldn't place. However, James was talking so animatedly to him, that Aly continued on, not wanting to disrupt.

She managed to slip back in bed without the nurse noticing her absence. She didn't argue when the nurse offered her a sleeping potion after her evening cleaning.

She woke in the middle of the night. She knew if she hadn't had the potion she wouldn't have fallen asleep at all. There was too much running through her mind.

She made a quick decision, got out of bed, and made her way over to Lily's bed. She hesitated, not sure if she wanted to wake her. She still wasn't really sure what Lily's actual ailments were. To her surprise, Lily's eyes opened.

Lily sat straight up in fright, and Aly jumped back.

"What in the name of Gryffindor are you doing?!" Lily asked, clutching her chest and breathing hard out of fright.

"Sorry," Aly said, her breathing irregular as well. "I didn't mean to scare you."

"Well, then you shouldn't have been leaning over my bed staring at me, should you've?" Lily snapped with a glare.

Aly, feeling the sting of this lashing, shrugged and started back towards her bed. Half way back, standing in the aisle between their beds, she said, without turning, "James and Sirius made up."

She stood waiting for a response. After about 2 minutes, it came. "Really?"

Aly nodded.

"Before us?"

Aly turned and nodded again, with more animation this time.

"That's not allowed," Lily declared, crossing her arms.

Aly's mouth twitched into a small smile.

Lily seemed to be deep in thought as Aly swayed slightly from where she had stopped.

"Are you alright?" Lily asked, her forehead creasing.

"Fine," Aly said with a wave of her hand. However, she was not feeling alright. Again, right before her eyes, Lily aged. Aly's heart picked up in pace, and she moved forward to use the end of Lily's bed for support.

"You are not ok," Lily announced. "Let me get the nurse."

Lily carefully got out of bed, and Aly reached out and took her by the arm. "Don't. Please. She'll never let me leave if you do."

The two girls stared at each other in the dim moonlight.

"Fine," Lily said in a small voice. She gingerly got back in bed. Aly followed suit.

"I'll see you tomorrow," she heard Lily say. She smiled to herself and fell asleep.

XxXxX

"You seem to be healing up just fine," Madame Pomfrey told Lily the next afternoon.

Lily looked at her and said simply, "Aly is too."

The nurse seemed taken aback by this comment and sent a glare Aly's way as if she had instructed Lily to say such a thing. "Really?" Pomfrey said skeptically.

Aly's eyes were wide from surprise at Lily's comment and shrugged at this remark.

"Yes," Lily said more boldly. "She assisted me last night without any problems."

"Assisted?" Pomfrey turned on her like a angry hawk. "Why didn't you call upon me?"

"It's alright. I'm fine. Aly's fine. And we'd like to leave the wing now." The nurse blinked quickly at Lily as she said this with finality in her voice.

Slowly, she replied, "Alright…" but she turned quickly towards Aly and barked, "But you be back at six for another cleaning. If you miss just one, you'll be back in here til you're completely healed."

Aly nodded and jumped up in excitement.

The two girls left without a look back. "You didn't have to do that," Aly told Lily as they started down the hallway.

"I know," Lily said studying her hands. She paused for a long moment before asking, "So, can we be friends again?"

Aly's eyebrows moved. "Uh, I think so. Why couldn't we be?"

Lily stopped. "What if one friend doesn't like the other friend's boyfriend?"

"I've managed that this long. Why should things change now?" Aly said half joking.

Lily sent her a unsure look.

"Lily, we don't have to agree on everything. _Especially _when it comes to boys."

"So, we're friends that don't like each other's boyfriends?"

"No different than if we did," Aly replied. "Just no double dating."

Lily cracked a smile. Aly, thinking the conversation on the topic of boyfriends had ended started towards the common room again. However, as she took a second step, she heard Lily say quietly, "You didn't tell me." The hurt was etched into every word.

Aly turned, licked her lips, and replied, "It had just happened."

"No," Lily said, still sounding upset. "You had to have known you had feelings for him. Or, at least, vice versa."

Aly pondered this. She most certainly had. "Lily, you know I don't talk about things like this…"

Lily interrupted, "With me, you do."

This was true, Aly noted. "But Sirius is Sirius, and you know how he is."

Lily merely looked at her. Aly knew this wasn't going to be enough for her. "Fine," she surrendered and hung her head. "I didn't want to tell you." Lily opened her mouth to speak, but Aly wouldn't let her. "I know Sirius' reputation. Everyone does. And I thought, if you knew, that, I don't know, that maybe you'd look at me differently. Which you did by the way."

Lily huffed.

"Plus, I wanted to keep it secret. Keep it special. Keep it just for me. Nothing I ever do is just for me. Somehow everyone else always gets involved. It's lame, I know. But, yeah…" Aly trailed off. She felt weird admitting such a thing aloud.

"No," Lily said, uncrossing her arms, "I get it. But you still could've told me." A wicked smile crossed Lily's face, "Promise me you will next time."

"Ohh-hoo, you're so funny, Lily Evans," Aly said knocking her with her elbow.

The two set off towards the common room, chatting about insignificant things, avoiding the large topics that may alter their still fragile and healing friendship. The subject Aly had hoped to avoid finally appeared.

"So," Lily asked in her motherly tone, "Have you started studying for the O.W.L.s?"

"No," Aly said with an eye roll. "I don't need to study."

"Yes you do!" Lily shrieked.

"She's right, you know," the Fat Lady commented. Aly shot her a glance. "Good to see you both up and about," she added as she opened up without a password.

"That's not very safe," Lily mumbled as she followed Aly into the common room. Aly hardly heard her though. She was taking in the sights, the smells, and the feel of home.

"We're going to start right this instant," she heard Lily announce as she marched up the stairs. She didn't care enough to ask what they were going to start, but was sitting on a couch 10 minutes later as Lily quizzed her. She was still on that couch 2 hours later when the Marauders wandered in.

James lead the group in. He had swiped a goblet of pumpkin juice which proceeded to fall out of his hand as he spotted the two girls. As the goblet hit the carpet, Peter and Sirius, in that order, ran into him. Remus was the only one paying enough attention to not fall into the heap. Lily, who was busy flipping through her notes and rambling off questions to Aly, didn't even notice. Aly, however, who was slumped into the couch, wishing it would swallow her whole, did. She didn't make a move though. She had tried to earlier and had ended up stuck to the carpet by some strange webbing between her toes. Lily had removed it with a promise to return it if Aly moved.

The three boys who had fallen stood up and joined Remus in observing the two missing fixtures in the Gryffindor common room. The portrait hole creaked, and a sharp voice ordered, "Move along. Do not block the portrait hole entrance." Professor McGonagall usher the four boys off, but they only moved roughly 20 feet.

"Miss Dumbledore," she addressed Aly, a smile twitching on her face as she viewed the guard and the captive, "Your father would like to speak with you."

"Oh thank god!" Aly exclaimed as she jumped up. "Sorry, Lily," she said with a huge smile on her face. Never in her life had she been this happy to go see her father. Lily looked disappointed as Aly followed McGonagall, but yelled after, "We can work some more when you get back."

Aly followed McGonagall to her father's office.

"Did you talk to Aly?" she heard him ask as McGonagall walked through the door. "Did she put up a fight?"

"No," Aly replied sharply.

Dumbledore, who had his chair back facing them, turned with surprise on his face. "You're up and about?"

"Clearly."

Dumbledore turned to McGonagall looking peeved. "I thought we were suppose to meet later."

"I found her in the Gryffindor common room, sir," McGonagall told him as she followed him over to the window, in attempt to make the conversation more private. "So, I brought her here."

"But I'm not ready to discuss this with her," her father stated agitated.

"Well, when I found that she had been released from the hospital wing, I knew it was now or never. You can't control her when she's up and moving, Albus."

McGonagall turned and left. Aly watched her go feeling a sudden surge of more respect for her. She understood her, Aly, better than her own father.

"What did you need to talk to me about?" Aly asked.

Dumbledore, who was deep in his own thoughts, looked at her in reregistered surprise. Aly had to admit, as she took a seat, she was being more civil than he was used to. He followed suit and looked at her from behind his desk.

"I was hoping to have my thoughts more in order before speaking to you on the matter…" he said half to her, half to himself. He looked at her, and Aly could tell that he was struggling.

"Just say it, dad," Aly told him. She was intrigued by what he wanted to discuss. Normally, only big things were given as much premeditated thought as he seemed to have wanted to give this.

He took a deep breath and told her, "The Estate of Alberto Gershom has been settled."

He stopped to, again, quickly organize his thoughts. Aly blinked at him. "Who's that?"

"He died a while ago, but, with such a large estate, and a greedy family, his estate has just now been taken care of."

"And why does this matter to me?" Aly asked, confused.

Dumbledore studied his long fingers as he said, "I wanted you to know because it will be the in paper tomorrow." He paused.

Aly was getting tired of his slow telling of the story and asked, "And?"

"And it will announce who is being left his entire estate."

Aly shook her head to show her misunderstanding.

"_You_ are being left the estate."

Aly's jaw dropped. Dumbledore waited for her to regain herself.

"What? Why?" she finally asked.

"Gershom was your grandfather."

Aly nodded. His death was not a surprise. She had known about it from Sirius. "But why is he leaving _me_ everything?"

Dumbledore smiled kindly and said, "You're the closest thing to family he has apparently. His wife's family has been rubbing up to him ever since he hit his 125th birthday. He apparently considered you the only real family he had. It may have also been to spite all of them, but either way, you're the heir."

Aly thought about that. Someone she had never met considered her his only family. It made her sad.

"Why didn't I ever know about him?" Aly asked.

Dumbledore looked taken aback by her question but supplied an answer. "After what he did to your mother, who never wanted to see him, I followed, what I assumed was, her wishes for you."

Aly showed her agreement on this discussion, but asked, "At some point shouldn't it have been my decision?"

"Perhaps," he shrugged, "But that's a moot point now, isn't it?"

Aly nodded. "Is that all you wanted to tell me?"

Again, her father looked surprised. "Yes."

"Ok," she got up to leave. At the door, he stopped her. "Alyson, you amaze me."

"Why?" she looked at him.

With a small chuckle, he said, "You didn't even ask what you inherited." His chuckle turned into a laugh at which Aly smiled at.

XxXxX

The next day, the finalization of the estate made the front page. Apparently, her grandfather had been an extremely wealthy man leaving her a family compound, a beach home in South Africa, substantial stock in the ministry, an army of house elves, and one of the deep vaults of Gringotts. Everyone seemed to suddenly want to be Aly's friend. Aly, however, kept her real friends close to her all day. James, Sirius, and Peter had made a game out of keeping people away from Aly. However, James took any opportunity he had to make jabs at her himself (always out of Sirius' earshot, of course).

Sirius had taken to walking Fang while Aly had been in the hospital wing, but Aly had insisted she was up to doing it again. When she had found out that Hagrid wasn't back, she had originally worried. However, Sirius told her that Hagrid had made a few trips back to the hut since he left. When she asked him how he knew, he quickly changed the subject. Aly felt a little freaked out when she realized that it was probably Fang who had told him.

Aly had taken Fang for his evening walk that night, after her last cleaning of the day. There was a chill in the air so when she returned to the common room she pulled on the sweatshirt she usually slept in. She was sitting near the fire reading her Defense Against the Dark Arts assignment when Lily, James, and Sirius entered the common room.

"Aww, come on!" James groaned loudly.

Lily moved past the two boys and sat down next to Aly, pulling out her own book.

"What is this crap?!" James asked loudly.

"Dude, what's wrong with you?" Sirius asked examining his friend as if he had lost all of his senses.

"This is ridiculous!" He held out his hand in Aly's direction.

"What is your problem, Potter?" Lily barked.

"I've been quiet because I thought you were all being quiet,"

"We are," Sirius cut in with a harsh whisper realizing what he was talking about.

"She's sitting there wearing your sweatshirt!"

"Which you can borrow by the way," Sirius told her. She smiled at him and waved her hand at him which caused the sleeve to flap since it extended far over her wrist.

"She's got your figgin' name on her back!" James yelled, clearly exasperated by the small joke exchange. "She might as well be walking around screaming 'I'm dating Black!'"

The whole common room went silent. Lily dropped her book. The color left Aly's face. Sirius' face went red. Before Aly could regain her thoughts, she saw a fist fly. She jumped up and saw Sirius and James going at it. "Stop it!" she screamed.

Lily flew around the couch and pulled out her wand. With a flash of light the two boys separated. "10 points," she said angrily.

"What?"

"No!"

"Each!" she added. "Potter, go to the hospital wing." He stared hard at her. "Now! Or else I'll get you benched from the next quidditch game."

He turned, mumbling obscenities as he left.

"Black," Lily yelled at him, "Go clean up that lip of yours. Put some Wound-Cleaning Potion on it."

Sirius sent a look at Aly, and Lily turned to see where he was looking. She sent him a look telling him that she'd handle it, and he headed up the stairs.

Lily turned to the still silent common room, "Get back to what you were doing!"

The buzzing and shuffling started immediately. Lily came over beside Aly.

"Are you alright? You look like you're going to faint. Should I--"

"I'm fine," Aly said automatically. Her insides were frozen. It wasn't because James had outed her relationship with Sirius. It was because he had hurt his best friend. She heard Lily talking to her without hearing her. "I've gotta go take care of something." She left Lily midsentence.

She walked at a brisk pace to the hospital wing. James was sitting on the end of a bed with the purple Wound-Cleaning potion on that Lily had instructed Sirius to put on his lip. It was dark in the wing except for the one light lit next to the bed James was on.

When he saw Aly enter, James turned his head away from her.

She walked in as casual as possible. She took a seat on the edge of the bed across from him. "Boy am I sick of this place," she commented offhandedly.

He ignored her.

"I don't know why you're ignoring me," Aly said simply. "I mean, it's not like I hit you."

His head snapped around, angry glare already in place.

"I'm just saying. You're acting like I'm the one who hit you."

"You're the reason Sirius hit me," he said petulantly.

"No," Aly corrected, "_You're_ the reason Sirius hit you. How could you?" He opened his mouth, but she continued, "Regardless of how you feel about me or me with Sirius, he's your best friend. You betrayed your best friend. Why would you do that? It was selfish and petty and low." She stood. "I didn't make you do anything. You made your own decisions, and now you have to live with those decisions."

She turned on her heel and left. Word of what had happened had apparently already spread beyond the common room because the Fat Lady asked her, "Black, eh?"

Aly merely said, "Chizpurfle."

She didn't see Lily so she went straight to the stairs. She heard whispers as she passed through the room.

Lily was sitting on Aly's bed waiting for her. She stood upon Aly's entry. She pulled the curtains closed that faced the door and directed Aly to sit on the other side with her. Aly sank onto the bed and looked at the make shift shield composed of the curtains.

"They heard," Lily whispered motioning towards Melanie and Mary. Aly felt terror and then relief all at once. She hadn't realized that having people know would scare her so much and was grateful that Lily had closed the curtains. She didn't need the staring eyes.

Lily was watching her face closely. "Are you ok?"

Aly nodded.

"You sure?"

Aly smiled and shook her head.

"Anything I can do?" she asked quietly.

Aly thought about that. Was there anything she could do? Was there anything _anyone_ could do that help ease her? She knew the answer to that question. "No. Not you."

Lily nodded and nudged her with her shoulder. "You should go talk to the person who can help you then."

Not really knowing why she didn't want to at the moment, Aly changed the subject. "What's going on with you and Amos?"

"Nothing," Lily said with an eye roll.

"Are you broken up?" Aly asked looking at her.

Lily pulled herself up really high in preparation of her answer but shrunk as she said, "I think so."

"I'm sorry, Lils."

"No, you're not," she said, "But it's okay. I'll live. I've just been thrown off. I didn't see this coming and then, it just happened. Overnight." She looked so sad.

"Want to run to the kitchen and steal some pastries?" Aly suggested.

"Nah. If it's okay, I just want to go to bed," Lily said flexing her shoulders.

"You should go," Aly said motioning with her head.

"You should too," Lily said smiling and disappearing around her bed post.

Aly really thought about it for a moment but swung her legs up over the bed and pulled her other curtain shut.

She laid there for a very long time. Finally, she surrendered to the gnawing pain in her chest and made her way to Sirius.

She knocked on the door lightly, not sure if anyone else was in there with him.

The door cracked open, and it was Remus.

"Hey," she said quietly.

He smiled kindly. "He's laying down. He won't talk to anyone about it. Maybe you can get something out of him." He let her in, and he and Peter left.

"Hey," she said from the door.

He didn't move. He was stretched out on his bed, ankles crossed and arms behind his head.

"You ok?" She made her way over to him.

Still nothing.

"So, everyone knows."

He closed his eyes.

"And you punched your best friend in the face."

"He deserved it." It was a growl.

"I don't disagree," Aly said. Neither said anything. Aly's nerves were wrought and, as she waited for him to speak or move or do anything, she snapped. "Can you at least look at me?"

He opened his eyes and lifted his head slightly.

She felt her chest tighten and her breathing start to go ragged. And then the tears started.

He sat up immediately and wrapped his arms around her. "This and then my grandfather and you and punching and owls and everything it's all just and I, I can't and I don't know--" She had started to hyperventilate.

"Calm down," he said soothingly. "I know there's been a lot of things on your plate. Just try to calm down." His lips were in her hair. Her eyes were closed, but there were tears leaking out of them. Her shoulders were still rising and falling with her breathing. "We'll get through this. We will. I promise, baby." Aly heard what she thought was thickness of tears in his voice, but when she turned to see him there were none to be seen. She would've guessed that her hair was wet though.

"Are you okay?" she asked again, reaching up and placing her hand on his cheek.

"Yeah," he said not all that convincingly.

"Do you need anything?"

He looked at her, concern gleaming from her eyes. "No, Als. I'll be fine. Go to bed. We've got to handle all of this in the morning." He stood, put his hands on his hips, and announced, "For when trouble calls, I've got the balls!"

Aly laughed roughly at his random outburst, smacked him, and told him to shut up.


	51. Black eyes and OWLs

"Why are you so fixated on your hair today?"

Aly ignored Lily's question as she twisted and wrapped one of her curls around her finger. It bounced out when she let it go and ended up right back where it had started. Aly growled at it and yanked at it.

"Honestly, Aly," Lily sighed, exasperatedly, "Your hair looks the same, everyday. Your hair doesn't change, ever. Can we just go?"

"Lily," Aly sighed, deciding she was right about her hair. "Today is different. It shouldn't be, but it is. Everyone will be looking at me."

"Everyone always looks at you," Lily mumbled, sounding almost bitter.

Aly turned puzzled eyes on her. "I just mean your the headmaster's daughter. People know who you are. They always look." She smiled at her, but Aly felt like her best friend wasn't telling her something. However, she followed Lily out of the room.

"Everything will be fine, Aly," Lily said reassuringly. "I'll be there and, probably, Sirius." Aly swatted at her.

"Faith, Lily. Have it." They made their way down the stairs. Aly felt silly, but she ducked behind Lily as they found the bottom. To her relief, Sirius was leaning against the back of a couch waiting for them. He stood and made his way over.

"Mornin', ladies," he greeted with a smile and a tap of his imaginary hat.

"Hey," Lily greeted. Aly merely smiled.

Lily examined the inaudible exchange happening between the two and left them alone.

Sirius moved forward and asked Aly, "How are you today?"

"Good," Aly said smiling at him.

James appeared at the bottom of the stairs. Sirius and him shared a glance, and Sirius turned to Aly, "Give me a minute."

Aly nodded, and Sirius jogged over to James. They walked out of the common room together. Aly watched him go, smile still intact. It was strange knowing that they were allowed to have an exchange however they wanted now. It was almost freeing. Maybe this would be a good thing.

"Skank," a passing girl snarled. Ok, maybe not.

Aly's smile fell. "Fan-freakin-tastic," she mumbled. She made her way out the portrait hole. Lily was waiting for her.

"What's wrong?" she asked upon seeing Aly's face.

Aly took a deep breath and told her, "It's begun."

XxXxX

The days that followed were enough to drive Aly to the breaking point. She had to put up with a variety of terrible things. The girls calling her foul names. "They're just jealous," Lily reassured her. The boys seemed to think she was easy, and took to trying to corner her. Luckily, Sirius stayed close and scared them as soon as he saw. Her talk with James had apparently done what she had wanted it to do. He and Sirius had made up. However, he still wasn't being nice to her. She tried to keep her feelings about him quite for Sirius' sake.

And the teachers were a whole other story. Most seemed to approve, Slughorn especially. He taught them how to make a mild love potion the first class they had with him. He kept coming over to her and saying things like, "Not that you need it," or "For those not lucky enough to already have a special someone." Other teachers were not as happy, mostly those close to Dumbledore. Flitwick separated Aly and Sirius who weren't even sitting together by putting them in opposite corners of the room. McGonagall was unnecessarily harsh to Sirius and tried to give Aly a "mother-daughter" talk after class. Aly escaped thanks to a spell gone awry attacking a student in the back of the classroom.

Aly's nerves were on edge the entire week. Her biggest concern and constant source of paranoia was her father's reaction. She didn't see him at all for a week.

On Sunday night, she finished eating dinner with Lily when she noticed Remus and Peter eating without their other two compadres. Aly left Lily were she was and went to investigate the missing Marauders. "Where's Sirius and James?" she asked.

Peter shook his head quickly. Remus, however, looked at her and said, "I can't tell you. However, if you were to take a walk through the dungeons, say near the Slytherin common room,who's to say what you might find."

She smiled and ran off. Sure enough, they were outside of the common room entrance. "Hold it right there," she ordered from down the hallway.

"Aww, man," Sirius groaned, "Caught."

"Stop what you're doing right now," she snapped at James who hadn't lowered his wand.

"Make me," he harped.

She crossed her arms over her chest. Sirius looked at her face and knew that she wasn't budging. "Dude," he rubbed the back of his neck, "Let's just--"

"No," James said. "I'm dealing with this couple thing,"

"Hardly," Aly snorted.

"Buuttt, I'm not giving up on these types of things."

Sirius looked back and forth between the two most important people in his life.

Before he could say anything, Professor Stevens voice found them, "Caught ya!" His cape bellowed out as he marched down the hallway. "Finally, follow me," he grabbed each boy by the collar, "You too, Miss Dumbledore."

Aly couldn't believe it when she had found herself in her father's office, with Sirius. She was just trying to keep Sirius from getting in trouble and had put them in even worse. The two professors talked to each other for a moment and then Dumbledore sent Stevens on his way.

"So," he said looking them over. "Who's going to tell me what's going on?" His eyes rested on Aly, who was sitting between the two boys.

"I had nothing to do with whatever these two were up to. I was just trying to stop them," Aly told him.

"Way to just throw us end the bus," James snarled.

"Well, it's true," Aly rebutted.

"I don't care," James spat back, "You're still a tattle tale. We wouldn't have even gotten caught if you weren't there."

"I wouldn't have had to stop you if you used some common sense once in a while,"

"Enough," Dumbledore stopped them. "Alyson, were you there?"

"Yes," James barked.

"Now who's the tattle tale?" Aly retorted.

"Then," Dumbledore spoke loudly over them, "You are just as guilty as the other two."

Aly sulked after he said this.

"You will each serve a weeks worth of detentions for the pranks pulled on the Slytherin common room over the past two weeks."

Aly's jaw dropped. A week? For trying to stop them? "But, but, but I didn't do anything!"

Her father looked at her. "Can you prove it?"

"Yes," she looked at Sirius, "Tell him. Tell him I wasn't with you. That I was only trying to stop you."

"You can't ask him!" James exclaimed. "He'll lie to protect you!"

Aly's head snapped around to face this preposterous boy. "What is there to lie about?"

"I'm just saying, you don't bite the hand that feeds you. He's gonna say what he needs to say to keep you in the sack." As soon as he said this, the room went deadly silent. Even Fawkes was quiet. Aly's jaw would've hit the floor if it were possible. Sirius' face was the same, but Aly didn't see it. She was starring hard at James. Her eyes burning holes in his face.

Dumbledore cleared his voice uncomfortably. Angry tears were welling in her eyes. She closed them and breathed deep. In and out. In and out. She focused on her breathing. She heard Sirius' voice in her ear, "Let's go."

She stood and followed the two boys out the room. Once outside the office, Aly looked to Sirius but saw red flash before her eyes.

"Aly! Stop it!" Sirius was next to her. "Let go! Please!"

His hands were in hers. He pulled her back. She hadn't realized that she was fighting against him. "Leave him be, Als."

James was rubbing his face. "Calm down," Sirius told her.

She sat on the floor, trying to regain herself. She couldn't believe it. She had attacked James. She had snapped. It shouldn't have been a surprise, but she would have thought she was strong enough to control herself.

She stood. She had to leave this place. She shouldn't be around James. Or Sirius. She had attacked his best friend after all. What if she attacked someone else? She definitely had to get away from people. She turned and started off, tears burning her eyes.

She tried to breathe deep. She heard nothing as she passed the student making their way back to their respective common rooms except for the rush of blood to her ears. She found herself in the kitchens without her knowledge. She sat down in front of the fireplace and cried. She questioned all that had happened as she sat there.

How had she become so emotional? Why was James being such as ass? Why did he announce what he had to her father? Especially with it not being true! And most importantly, how did she lose control and attack James?

She sighed and picked at some of the ash in the hearth. Tipsy came stomping up to her.

"What are you doing here, Alyson?" she demanded in her high pitched voice.

Aly merely looked at her.

"Get up," Tipsy demanded.

"Why?" Aly said with a shrug. "So, I can go out and hurt more people?"

"Hurt people?" Tipsy squeaked. "Silly girl, you did what needed to be done. Knock that boy down a peg or two!"

Aly was shocked. First because the incident had found it's way to the kitchens already. Second because Tipsy thought it was good thing.

"Brat got what he deserved. Walking around like he rules the castle. Coming in here like he can control us," Tipsy was mumbling angrily at herself. She turned her oversized eyes at Aly and ordered, "Get up. Now. Go back and do not let this boy with the over inflated head bother you. You did everyone a favor. If you hit him again, at least finish the job this time."

A smile cracked Aly's face. Being told to kill James in such a high, squeaky voice was too funny for it's own good. "Thank you, Tipsy." She stood, wiped the tears off of her face, brushed the ash off of her hands onto her pants, and left the kitchen. Tipsy was right. James got what he deserved.

She headed back to the common room. There was one detail that weighed on her mind though, how would Sirius react to her after what had happened? Not that he could pass that much judgement, Aly thought. After all, he had punched James as well.

She gave the password to a sour faced Fat Lady. Lily was waiting for her with more O.W.L. notes. Lily gasped and dropped her papers, letting them fly everywhere.

"What happened?"

How on earth does Lily already know? Aly thought. "James," she mumbled.

"He did this?" Lily asked inspecting her eyes. Aly should've spent more time letting the puffiness of her crying go down before coming back.

The Marauder's entered the common room. Another flash of red went across Aly's eyes, this time it was Lily. James was on the ground yelling as Lily pounded on him.

"Someone get her off of me!" James yelled.

Sirius, however, had his arm held out, holding Remus and Peter in place. He was staring hard at Aly.

"I can't hit a girl!" James announced.

"What the hell happened to you?" Sirius asked Aly. His chest was rising and falling unsteadily.

Aly's eyes went big at his tone, but pointed at James. She hadn't expected Sirius to be so upset by her crying.

Sirius' jaw moved to the side. He grabbed Lily by the waist, pulled her up, and handed her to Remus, who took to holding her back. Sirius proceeded to pull James up, who began to dust himself off as Sirius pulled back his fist and punched him across the face. He fell back onto the floor.

James let out a string of curse words.

Sirius looked ready to hit him again. Aly ran over and took his fist in her hands and held him back. "What is going on?"

He looked at her, "You said he did this to you." His eyeballs bulged slightly.

"Yeah, but…" Aly suddenly caught on to the fact that she was missing something. She turned and went over to fireplace. The frame of the picture above it was silver, and she saw her reflection. It looked like she had two black eyes.

She bit her lip as she turned to face them. "There's been a bit of miscommunication," she said. She took her tshirt and rubbed at her eyes. She felt so dumb. She should never had rubbed her eyes with dirty hands.

Sirius look relieved and pulled James up again. "You didn't hit her?

"I just said, 'I can't hit a girl,'" James told him.

"Sorry, dude," Sirius told him, "I thought…"

"It's ok," James said tentatively, "She's your girl." He hesitated, shrugged, and held out his hand. Sirius shook his hand.

Aly and Lily shared a glance. "Boys," Lily said with an eye roll before heading back over to her notes. Aly thought to follow her, knowing that more studying was inevitable, but she looked to Sirius first. He was studying her. A smile touched his lips as their eyes met. He moved away from his friends and closer to her. "You okay?" he asked.

"Yeah, why?"

He sighed and twisted his mouth to the side. "I just wanted to make sure you were okay. After...what James said to your dad."

Aly shrugged. She realized by the look in Sirius' eyes that he needed more from her than that. "I don't really have much to say on the whole thing. It was just hard to hear what I've known everyone is thinking."

"What do you mean by that?" he asked roughly. Aly seemed to have unintentionally hit a soft spot.

"Just that everyone seems to think that I'm…" Aly searched for the lease painful of words and finally settled on, "Easy."

Sirius frowned hard at her. "That's not fair."

"What's not?"

"That you get labelled as 'easy' because your with me."

Aly shrugged and smiled at his naiveté. "That's what it's like to be a girl. Lots of labels. Always."

He seems to ponder this as she looked over her shoulder at Lily who was flapping her papers at her violently. "I better go before Lily has an aneurism," she told Sirius with a small laugh at her friend. Sirius, still looking very uncharacteristically serious, smiled as well at the frantic figure Lily made.

"Alright," he told her. "Breakfast tomorrow?"

"Only if Lily ever lets me go to sleep," Aly joked. Without thinking about it, she gave him a kiss on the check.

"Ewwww!" James and Peter groaned while Remus smiled at them.

"Shut up!" Sirius yelled at them, playfulness in his voice.

Aly found her way over to Lily who was already set with her fresh round of questions.

XxXxX

"This is so unfair!" Aly proclaimed, slamming her book shut.

"What's wrong?"

Aly sent an angry look at her "husband" as he leaned lazily against the wall their desk was against staring at the ceiling. She felt like hitting him. However, she resisted the urge.

"My family sucks," Aly mumbled and glared at her book.

"You still aren't done with that stupid family tree yet?" He look disappointed in her.

"You're one to talk," Aly said defensively, "Where's your tree?"

He pulled a scroll out of his bag and presented it. She glared at it as well. They were suppose to be combining their trees today, and she felt better about not having hers done because she figured Sirius' wasn't done.

"Ok, question: why is it that you are the only one here with a talking family history book, and you're the only one without a completed tree?"

Aly raised her eyebrows in confusion and looked at her book. It certainly never talked to her before.

"Your dad, Aly," he said with a shake of his head, "He can probably tell you all about your family." He looked at her, surprised she hadn't thought of this on her own.

"You know I don't talk to him unless it's absolutely necessary. Life or death," she added for effect.

Sirius didn't look impressed. "This is for school, Aly. And I actually figured he'd come to you and offer his help."

"Well, he didn't," Aly mumbled.

She sighed and went to pull her book towards her to reopen it and try to find more of her hidden family members in it. However, it disappeared before she could. Sirius was holding it up over his head. Aly, not finding his act funny, took her foot and kicked his chair, which was leaning back on it's hind two legs. He toppled over, and the book skidded out of his hand. Being in the back of the room, the book hit the wall and opened. Aly jumped after it. However, Sirius toppled on top her. Aly let out an "uhf" as she felt her air leave her lungs. He managed to get the book back and found his seat and huddled protectively over the book.

Aly stared at the back of his head and decided to take a more playful approach. She walked up behind him and ran her hands down his shoulders and over his arms. She felt him stiffen straight up but he had his arms still tightly clutching the book. She ran her nose against his ear and whispered, "So, maybe later, you and me, we could, you know…" She felt goose bumps explode on his neck. With this distraction working, Aly grabbed the book. "Yes!" she exclaimed in triumph.

He looked very sour at her. "Tease."

Aly turned in anger. "Take that back."

"No," he stated, crossing his arms. "It's true."

"Ass," Aly stated.

"That's true too." He made a move for the book. Aly moved out of the way.

He took her under the arms and tickled. Aly burst out laughing and tripped over her own feet. He held her down and continued to tickle her. It seemed to be less about the book and more about tickling at this point.

Aly's eyes started to water from her laughter. However, she managed to hear a toe tapping near her head. She looked up and saw McGonagall staring angrily down at them.

"Sorry, Professor," Sirius said standing up.

Aly tried to calm herself down and took Sirius' hand that he offered. "Sorry, Professor."

McGonagall shook her head but said nothing. She moved away from them. There were lots of eyes on them. Neither of them seemed to notice. Sirius went back to leaning against the wall and staring and the ceiling. A coy smile on his face. Aly opened her book again and began looking for her long lost Uncle Hywel.

XxXxX

The O.W.L.s had snuck up on Aly quicker than she had anticipated. She soon found herself sleep deprived, quizzing Lily or being quizzed almost every waking hour of the day, and missing Sirius. According to Lily, here was no time for boys when the O.W.L.s where only a week away.

Aly was relieved when they finally arrived. She was ready to have them over with. She flew through the Potions, Astronomy, and Defense Against the Dark Arts exams with flying colors, and felt confident about the rest. Lily had her study so much that Aly had taken to chanting Charms in her sleep so she even felt okay about that one. She took to enjoying the rest of her afternoon after her DADA exam because all she had left was her Transfiguration exam. She was sure she'd get an "O" on it.

She was lounging by the lake, her toes dipped in the water, enjoying the sun. She heard a commotion and saw James and Sirius harassing Snape. She heaved a sigh.

"What's wrong?" Lily asked not taking her eyes off of her Transfiguration book.

"They're after Snape again," Aly told her, shielding her eyes from the sun and watching the progress. She knew her presence in the situation would only cause more problems. James hadn't quite forgiven her for roughing him up and was still iffy about how he felt about the relationship.

Lily snapped her book shut. "I'll handle this." Aly watched as she headed over to the trees. Before Lily got there, Snape was upside down with his underwear showing. Aly groaned inwardly, and turned back so she couldn't see what was going on. She heard a thud and the standard yellings of James after Lily.

Lily was red in the face when she took a seat next to Aly. She was clearly fuming over something.

"What's wrong?" Aly asked.

"He," she stuttered, "He called me, called me a, a _mudblood_," she whispered the final word.

Aly felt stunned. "Who? James?"

"No," Lily snapped, tears welling in her eyes, "Snape." She spat the name with the same venom Sirius and James usually did.

"Oh," Aly shrugged, "What's the big deal? He is a Slytherin after all." What Aly thought would be some comfort to Lily only made her cry harder. She got up and left Aly sitting there.

That night Lily seemed to still be upset. She was sitting on her bed, having moved from sadness to anger, and Aly sat watching her. "Aren't you going to tell me what's wrong?"

Lily didn't look up from her book, but replied, "'Bout what?"

"'Bout why you're so upset."

"I'm not." Lily still didn't look up.

Aly opened her mouth, but before she could say anything, Mary came bursting into the room. "Snape is waiting outside for you. He say's he's gonna come in if you don't come out."

Lily grunted and stormed out of the room.

"What's up with that?" Mary asked, and Aly just shrugged.

Lily returned a few minutes later looking even more upset.

Aly let her sit for a few minutes before observing, "You're friends with Snape."

Lily sniffled.

"That explains why you disappear with no explanation. And why you always defend him. And now he's called you a mudblood." Aly was surprised she had missed the signs to all of this before.

"He was my best friend before coming here," Lily told her. "But he's not my friend anymore."

"Oh, Lils, he slipped. If he's your friend, I'm sure he didn't mean anything by…"

"He's slipping into the dark arts, Aly. He has been for a while. Now this, and well, we just can't be friends anymore." Lily said this with a sad finality to her voice.

Aly moved to sit down next to her, and Lily leaned her head on Aly's shoulder and cried.


	52. Birthday and Bruises

Aly went into the summer overwhelmed with anticipation. She had gotten a job at the Ministry again. However, this summer, since she had applied to be a part of a student program, she was shadowing an actual Ministry worker. She was not particular pleased with the person who was in charge of the group students, "Mr. Trentecost" as he was insisting upon being called, mostly because she was afraid of Sirius' reaction. However, she stayed so busy with her working as a shadow, she rarely saw Logan. So, she felt that there was no need to worry Sirius. Plus, she was too worried about him to have to deal with him being worried about her.

Sirius had left his parents house not long after summer break had started. He had wandered for a while, moving from friend's house to friend's house. Aly never knew where he would be each night or when she'd see him. He randomly showed up at her house in Hogsmeade. She had taken to staying after having a very civil discussion about it with her dad. He seemed pleased with this new bout of maturity and agreed. Aly wasn't sure if he knew that her boyfriend came to see her and crashed on the couch occasionally (usually with Aly tangled up with him).

She loved her assignment at the Ministry. She had been given to the care of Mr. Pascual Hallan Scout. He was middle aged with always dirty dirty blonde hair. He was very eccentric and a bit off the wall. He was late the first morning, coming in with two coffee cups, and stuck out his hand to her, "Names Scout. Gotta lot to do today. A lot a lot to do." He scurried off past her, and Aly was instantly reminded of a squirrel. This was how he moved. He twitched, scurried, and hide things from her. However, he was also brilliant. Aly was amazed at how his brain worked and how fast. This plus his behavior explained to her why he worked in the Department of Mysteries.

Aly wasn't allowed to really do much within the Department. She mostly just followed Scout around and did whatever small task he requested of her. She mostly got coffee for him. That first morning, seeing his two coffee cups, she had told him, "No thanks. I don't really drink coffee." He had laughed at her, thinking it was a joke. His two cups of coffee were just the beginning. He consumed more coffee than probably all of the rest of the Ministry workers combined. The one thing she really looked forward to was when she ran papers to and from different departments (Scout didn't trust the owls). She got to see all the different people of the ministry and occasionally a classmate.

When the summer came to an end, Aly knew she would have to remind Scout. He never even knew what day of the week it was without Aly's instruction. He merely looked up from his over cluttered desk and nodded. He turned back to his work, but then, as his slow relay caught up, he looked back at her and asked, "So I'll need to get my own coffee?"

Aly smiled and nodded, and placed one of the last cups of coffee she would give to him on his desk before heading off with a note to the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures.

XxXxX

Aly meet Lily at the train on September 1st.

"You're riding this year!" Lily screeched as she pulled Aly into a backbreaking hug.

"Yeah!" Aly told her, freeing herself. "I decided it was important and talked to my dad about it…"

Lily's eyebrows almost disappeared into her hair line at this announcement.

"Yes," Aly answered her unasked question, "I have been talking to him. Or, well, communicating anyways. Anyhoo, he agreed that the train ride is a long standing tradition and developmental part of the Hogwarts experience." Aly beamed and helped Lily put her trunk on the train.

They were on the way to Hogwarts, and Lily was animately talking about her O.W.L. results (she didn't want to brag, but she got 9 "O"s and 2 "E"s) when the hallway filled with pretty, pink bubbles.

Lily looked out the window in shock. "Wha, wha, wha?"

Aly laughed aloud. She knew exactly where, or to be more specific who, the bubbles came from. She had seen bubbles for years as a source of interest for the Marauders. So, she didn't even hesitate as she jumped up, threw open the door, and dove into the sea of suds.

"Aly?!" she heard Lily yell, but it was muffled. Aly half walked, half swam through the mess. Her vision was obscure to barely in front of the tip of her nose. It was no surprise when she ran into something solid and glided backwards. She squinted as light broke through the wall of pink, and she saw Sirius smirking at her. James was next to him. Aly could only tell it was him due to the glasses.

Aly looked back towards the direction she came from and saw Remus standing near Lily. She made her way over to them. Lily was angrily scrapping suds from her hair when Aly got to the compartment.

"Did you do this?" a voice asked.

Aly looked towards it. It was Snape and the Slytherin prefect Aly only knew as Avery.

"What do you want?" Aly asked eyeing the best she could as bubbles still moved past them.

"I'm trying to take the culprits up to the front of the train," Avery said through clenched teeth. He was a dark and sullen looking boy.

Sirius laughed. "Well, your looking in the wrong compartment. Try two doors down." Avery glared at Sirius who smiled back amicably.

"Leave." Aly said with a cross of her arms. Glares were sent around the small hallway as Lily's voice yelled out, "Don't!"

It appeared that Remus and Peter had been helping Lily remove her bubbles by use of their wands. Apparently, Peter had decided to go for her chest, and Lily was not too happy about it.

Snape's eyes rested upon Lily, heavy with sorrow. Avery growled, "I'll be back, Black," and left. Snape followed reluctantly.

"Aly, what were you thinking?" Lily asked as Aly took her seat again, making a squish noise as she did, and ignored Lily's question.

"So," she turned her attention to the boys. Peter was sitting next to Lily, sending her apologetic looks. Remus was helping James try to close the door so the bubbles wouldn't keep spilling in. Just as the door was almost closed, Sirius slide in and the door snapped shut. "What's with the bubbles?"

The boys took seats, Sirius next to her, James across from Lily.

"Hmmm?" Sirius made an attempt to look confused.

"I mean, a bit amateur for you all," Aly commented. "That's so second year."

James frowned. "This is a much bigger attempt. I'd like to see you find a way to get bubbles to hold their shape for such a long time in such a small space." He crossed his arms.

"But, why bubbles?" Aly asked and jumped as she felt a cold breeze. Lily had taken to cleaning her off with her wand.

"You don't need a lot to get a lot," James said without much thought.

"Plus," Sirius added, "It's something easier to blame on someone else." He smiled widely as he told Aly, "We stowed a big bottle of muggle bubbles with the Slytherins two doors down."

"So that's where those went," Lily mumbled, now picking at Aly's clothes to dry her off thoroughly. Aly smiled and leaned back so that Lily could focus on her front. She knew trying to stop her would useless. Lily stopped short of Aly's chest, hesitating.

"Just leave it." Aly said, "I'll be changing soo--"

Everything went black and hot for Aly in a jolt. There was yelling and feet running as Aly opened her eyes. She took in the cart around her. She was on the floor, and Sirius was crouched over her, wand out. Peter was standing in the door way, shaking almost uncontrollably. Everyone else was missing.

"What's going on?" Aly asked. Both Sirius and Peter jumped.

"Shh," Sirius stated, putting his hand on her arm. She moved it off and sat up. Her head felt heavy, but not in the same way that it normally felt as she blacked out.

Aly heard the buzzing on the train as she sat, but, suddenly, everything went quiet on the train. Her hair stood on end as a flash of green came from down the hall.

"No," she gasped silently, covering her mouth. Everything was silent until the train lurched forward. Aly had no idea that the train had stopped. A scream echoed down the hallway that even the remaining bubbles couldn't muffle. Sirius stood and went to the door with Peter. They waited. James was the first one to reappear.

"They're gone," he said heavily, sinking into a seat.

Sirius looked physically relieved and held out his hand to help Aly up. She took it, and they found their seats.

Peter sat as well, and they waited for the other two to return. As they sat and listened to the crying coming from down the hall, Aly knew that it wasn't Lily or Remus who had been the target of the green light because James wouldn't have returned without knowing they were okay. However, she had to ask, in a whisper, "Who?"

All three boys looked at her, and James responded in what could only be described as torture, "A first year."

Aly's jaw dropped as well as her heart. She saw Sirius cover his eyes and shake his head. Peter was just as stunned as she was.

Aly opened her mouth to ask the many questions running through her head, but closed it immediately. James looked green and upset. She knew there would be a time and a place to ask what had happened, and she knew that that time was not now.

They all waited. Lily never returned, but Remus did and told them that she was with some of the other prefects who were trying to calm the other first years in the car down and keeping them away from the girl.

"A little girl," Aly whispered. "An innocent little girl." She buried her face in her hands.

The train came to a stop. And it seemed that all of the students on the train had heard what had happened. Remus headed back to help where he was needed as a Prefect. The four of them that remained headed towards the carriages.

As the carriages came into view, James gasped and stopped.

"What's wrong?" Sirius asked in confusion.

Aly, noticing James' line of sight, asked him, gently, "You can see them?"

He looked at her. "You see them too?"

Aly nodded. She hadn't known the man she had seen die, but once when visiting St. Mungo's she had witnessed a death. She was suddenly aware of the thestrals on Hogwarts grounds at the tender age of 5.

"Did you see the little girl die?" Aly asked.

James merely nodded.

Aly meant to explain to him why he could suddenly see the fierce looking creatures, but the headmaster had suddenly swept past her. They were preparing to move the body off of the train. Aly watched in paralyzing shock. The little girl was wrapped in an older student's robe, the Gryffindor symbol obvious on it. However, as the small body moved past, Aly realized that there was also a Hufflepuff robe wrapped around her and a Ravenclaw robe too. And to her great surprise, the green of the Slytherin emblem was seen near her feet. She felt tears well up in her eyes.

"You shouldn't be here," she heard a voice say. She turned to see Professor McGonagall standing there. She was right. All of the other students had been cleared out of the area as to not see the body. Aly didn't move though. Sirius' hand found hers and pulled her away. She sent one last glance over her shoulder. Floating freshly above the train was a strange symbol. It looked like a skull and a snake of some sort. They got into the last carriage that had been waiting for them.

Aly was silent the rest of the evening. So much was on her mind. It seemed that most of the school felt that way.

How were the parents of that little girl going to react when their excited student was returned in a body bag? How could anyone do that to an eleven year old? How was this going to effect the rest of the first years? The death of a classmate wasn't something one forgot.

Lily entered the Gryffindor girl's dormitory well after Aly had. However, Aly was still awake. Lily sat down on her bed and looked at her.

The usual noise of the dorm was quieted.

"We should get some sleep," Lily said quietly.

Aly nodded, but neither of them moved.

XxXxX

The school was still in a somber mood the next morning. Aly, after receiving her schedule from McGonagall, headed to her father's office.

"Skipping class already, Alyson?" he asked when he saw that it was her that had entered his office. He had been starring hard into the fire when she entered.

"I had to come see you."

"You want answers," he said.

She sat down without a word, but she knew he knew that was exactly why she was there.

He sighed and said, "The first year was Vala Colchester."

"Colchester? As in the Minister of Magic?"

Dumbledore had taken his seat behind the desk as he nodded. "Niece."

"But why?"

"Death Eaters."

Aly nodded. "How?"

"They abducted the train--" he started.

"How?" Aly interrupted.

He frowned as he thought. "There must've been a student on board who helped. The conductor was held hostage by someone in Death Eater robes. I would say it's a good guess to assume that it was a student."

Aly nodded to show her agreement.

"With the train stopped, others, presumably nonstudents, boarded with the intentions of taking out predominant ministry worker's family members," he said with his face slacking under some sort of unsaid stress.

"How do you know?" she asked.

He patiently let her interrupt. "We found a list of names not far from the train. Luckily," he said, with a tad of a sparkle in his sad eyes, "The bubbles that had mysteriously appeared on the train prohibited the Death Eaters from getting any further than they did."

"Silver lining, I guess," Aly shrugged.

"Indeed," he nodded. Their eyes met, and Aly knew, without him saying it out loud, that her name had been on that list. "Alyson, it's hard to understand all of this. The Death Eaters, Voldemort in particular, wanted to send a message to the Ministry."

"But through killing children?!" Aly exclaimed.

Dumbledore sighed, "I will be the first to tell you that I do not understand the way that Tom's mind works."

"Tom?"

"Voldemort's given name," Dumbledore explained. "Anymore questions?"

Aly thought about it. "What was that thing floating over the train?"

"Ah," he said examining his fingertips, "That was the Dark Mark. It's Voldemort's symbol. Whenever someone is killed by Death Eaters, or Voldemort himself, the Dark Mark is sent up over the area to let every one know. This is another reason why a student on the train had to have been involved. The mark was sent up after the train had stopped at the station."

Aly nodded.

"Is that all that is on your mind?"

Aly looked at him and smiled blandly, "That's all the answers you can give me."

He nodded and advised, "I think it's best that you head on to class."

Aly nodded and headed towards the door.

"Aly, do me favor, would you?" he asked as she reached the door.

"What's that?" she asked.

"Send a thank you to those who created the bubbles from me."

Aly smiled and said, "Will do."

XxXxX

"What happened to me on the train?"

Sirius, who was eating lunch, stopped midbite. He looked puzzled. "What do you mean?"

She hadn't told him about the Death Eater list, thinking it wasn't necessary to worry him. Currently, she glowered at him. "How did I end up on the floor?"

He put down his fork, thinking, "I figured it was one of your thingys."

"No, it wasn't."

Sirius scrunched up his face as he thought.

"Hey, Lils," Aly turned to her.

"Yeah?"

"Did you see what happened to me on the train?"

"Oh, yeah, that…"

When Lily trailed off, it upped Aly's curiosity. "What happened? Tell me!"

"I accidently hit you with some sparks from my wand."

Aly was taken aback.

"Well," Lily tried to defend herself, "The train stopped all of a sudden, and I accidently shot some sparks out of my wand, and they hit you. That's why your bangs are singed." Lily turned bright red as Aly examined her hair. Sure enough, they were blackened on the tips. "I'm so sorry," Lily exclaimed. "It was an accident. Uncontrolled magic. I should've been more careful."

"Lily," Aly stopped her. "It's okay." She went back to her lunch, and Lily followed suit.

The whole school was still sedate. Aly wondered how long it would last. The first years were all more mild and twitchy than usual, but that was to be expected.

"I wonder who was the student involved with the train incident," Aly thought aloud as she looked at the Slytherin table.

"Probably the same ones involved in that explosion last year," Sirius commented.

Aly looked at him. "What do you mean? What happened then?" Aly had been too caught up in the aftermath to ever think to ask about what had happened to have landed Lily in the hospital the year before.

"Well, there were some students, mostly Slytherin," he said with an eye roll, "That were making illegal potions in the dungeons. Probably because Slughorn lets everyone get away with anything. But they got caught due to the, the...something,"

"The purple smoke looming over the dungeons," Lily supplied.

"Yeah, so the Prefects were called down to handle it, but one of the potion they were working on,"

"Garrotting gas," Lily chimed.

"Yeah, it exploded and hurt like everyone who was in the area."

"So stupid," Aly said as she rolled her eyes.

"Exactly," he agreed. "So, stupid."

XxXxX

Aly was lying on her bed completely dressed waiting for Lily to get out of the shower so they could go to breakfast together. The school year was moving along smoothly. There had been little commotion besides what had happened on the train. Classes seemed more interesting to Aly since she had been able to drop some of, what she thought were, the more useless classes. She was still taking charms, but, this year, Lily was her tutor. That didn't mean she had a lack of Sirius time though. The summer had seemed to simmer the interest in her and Sirius' relationship. Most girls seemed to have accepted that they were out of luck when it came to the illustrious Black. However, some seemed to need to make sure the summer hadn't seen them split.

During the second week of class, Aly had been talking to Melanie in the front hall when, out of no where, Sirius was hiding behind her (very ineffectively since he was now over 6 feet tall, and Aly still stood at a mere 5'4"). Aly saw some girls that stood at the Great Hall door and glare unhappily at them.

September had gone by in a blink of the eye. Today, Aly waited for Lily only because it was her birthday. She was 17 today, an adult in the magical world. She didn't feel any different. This, however, was not why she waited. It was her first birthday with Sirius, and, to be completely honest, she was almost afraid of what was to come. She figured it could go one of two ways: 1) he could totally turn it into some sort joke (this is what Aly figured would happen) or 2) he would make no big deal about it (this is what Aly prayed wouldn't happen). It wasn't as if Aly wanted a parade in her honor. She never worried much about her birthday. However, for some reason, she couldn't shake the feeling that this year had to have something...something special.

Lily looked surprised when she saw Aly waiting for her. "What's up?" she asked as she rubbed her hair dry with her towel.

"Just wanted to wait for you," Aly said sitting up, swinging her feet back and forth, not meeting Lily's eyes.

She followed her out of the room and down the stairs as Lily left. As they reached the bottom of the grand staircase, Aly peaked around Lily, and Lily mumbled, "You are acting so strange." Aly's response was to poke her between the shoulder blades to edge her into the hall. "Stranger than usual anyways," Lily added.

They sat down, and Lily began to eat while Aly stared hard at the entrance way. The Marauders had yet to arrive. When they did, Aly's eyes shot back to Lily, who rolled her eyes.

"Good morning," James greeted them as he sat down next to Lily.

"Happy Birthday, Aly," Remus said as he sat. She returned a nervous smile, and avoided looking at Sirius as he sat down next to her and gave her the customary kiss on the cheek.

"How are you today?" Sirius asked.

"Fine," Aly said stiffly.

"You ok?" he asked. She nodded quickly, and Sirius sent a look at Lily who shrugged at him.

Breakfast went by quietly. Aly sat waiting, on edge still. As it ended and they headed to class, Sirius took a hold of her by her elbow and held her back slightly. He whispered into her ear, "I got a present for you." She turned to look at him, excited, but he walked past her, and mouthed, "Later."

She felt her heart jump and a smile spread across her face. She sat impatiently through class, paying little attention to any of her lessons. She expected something at lunch, but got nothing as Sirius never even showed up. By the time dinner arrived, Aly was so antsy she almost fell out of her seat when he entered the hall. They ate just the two of them since no one else showed up.

"You wanna go for a walk?" Sirius suggested after dinner.

"Sure," Aly said, anticipation ballooning almost to the breaking point in her chest.

He took her hand and lead her down the stairs. Aly realized as they walked that they were headed towards Hagrid's hut. She saw what looked like balloons through the window. She halted in her steps. "No," she said.

Sirius looked at her, trying to sum up what the "no" had meant.

"A party?" Aly whined. "I don't want a party!"

An understand smile spread across his face. He obviously knew she'd react this way. "Come'on, Als," he said taking her hand.

"Nooo!" she continued to whine as he pulled her forward.

As they reached the door, he stopped her, and said, "Now remember, Lily has worked very, very hard to pull this off without you knowing about it. Don't blow it now. Act surprised. Act grateful. And try to have some fun," he added with a small pout.

"Fine," Aly growled.

Sirius pulled his lip in, smiled, and knocked on the door. Aly pulled herself together. She would at least let Lily think she was surprised and happy, and then she would find a way to sneak away.

Hagrid opened the door. "Hey ya, Aly, Sirius! Come'on in!" He stepped back, letting the light stream out of the small hut and a loud "SURPRISE!" hit Aly.

She didn't have to force the smile as streamers rained down on her. There were more people there than she expected. Of course there was Lily, Remus, James, and Peter, but there was also Melanie, Mary, Professors Sprout, Flitwick, Slughorn, McGonagall, and her father.

"We got you!" Lily exclaimed running forward, so ecstatic by this fact. "We actually got you!"

"Ya you did." Aly shrugged trying to look sheepishly. "I mean, a party. Really, Lils, you shouldn't have."

"Oh, you don't have to thank me," she replied with a flip of her hand. "This was really all Sirius' doing."

"Really?" Aly said, eyes going wide and her lips curling in as she turned to look at the boy leaning carelessly against the door frame behind her. He smiled a big toothy grin at her. Before Aly could say anything in response to this, Lily grabbed her by the wrist, "Look at your cake!"

Aly looked at it and smiled a very soft smile at it. It's icing was red and yellow, and in the center of it was a picture taken the year before after Gryffindor had won the Quidditch Cup. It had Aly, Sirius, and James in uniform, holding the cup, on brooms, floating next to the stands with Lily, Remus, and Peter in war paint behind them. It must've had a protective spell on it as the images in the picture laughed and smiled back at her.

She looked up from the cake and saw that the Professors were drinking. Hagrid had his firewhiskey out, and they all seemed eager for a glass. She saw Hagrid look at Dumbledore who nodded.

"Gather 'round," he hollered louder than necessary. All of the students moved towards him. "We're gonna do a toast to our girl Aly," he stated. He opened his cupboard and only found two glasses. With a quick flick of his wand, Dumbledore caused the six other needed glasses to appear. Hagrid poured a very small amount of firewhiskey into all of them. "Grab a glass all of y'all."

Everyone seemed to eagerly grab a glass.

Lily pulled out a chair and stood up on it with her glass held high. "Seventeen years ago today, my best friend in the entire world was born. I just want to say that, I for one, am very glad to be celebrating. With all of crazy things that she's done, we are all very lucky to see her still standing here. I wouldn't be me without you. I love you, Aly. I want you to have the best birthday ever. To Aly!" All of the glasses raised. "To Aly," the room echoed. The glasses were all emptied. Peter gasped and coughed. Remus patted him on the back. Melanie and Mary both giggled.

Aly gave Lily a big huge once she had stepped down off of the chair. "Thanks, Lils."

Aly was almost certain she saw Lily wipe away a tear. "Presents!" she exclaimed.

"How about cake first?" James suggested eyeing it hungrily. "For those of us who haven't eaten yet."

"Sure," Lily said running over to the cake and grabbing plates to start distributing it.

Aly picked at her cake as she observed the room. The teachers had poured another round of firewhiskey. Melanie and Mary were eyeing Fang who was breathing very close to their feet hoping for some dropped cake. Lily was still running around. This time she was looking for something to cover the remaining cake so it wouldn't go bad. James, Peter, and Remus were discussing the next Quidditch match and possible strategies.

Aly looked around and realized she hadn't seen Sirius since she had entered the hut. She spotted him in the far corner of the hut. She made her way over to him. "What's up?"

He looked at her and jumped up. "Enjoying your party?" he asked. Aly sensed that his smile was forced.

"Yeah. You?"

"It's great."

"Sirius, really what's going on with you? You're acting weird. It's stran--"

"Wanna get out of here?" he interrupted.

"Leave?" Aly asked in surprise.

"Yeah. I'll give you your present," he added as an added incentive.

Aly's interest perked. "Okay,"

They slipped out unnoticed as Fang finally made his move for Mary's cake. The night air was brisk, but the moon was out. "I used to think that the crescent moon was a thumbnail placed in the sky," Aly commented as they walked. Sirius was unusually quiet.

They reached the lake not far from Hagrid's hut, and Sirius stopped. He stood awkwardly for a few moments as Aly watched him. She knew something was really getting to him. "Can't you tell me what's wrong?" she asked placidly.

He shook his head, and Aly thought it was at her. However, he seemed to explode afterwards. "I don't know what to do. If do it, I may be buying into all the stupid traditions I've been trying to escape. If I don't, I feel like, like, like I'm doing something wrong. I just don't know what to do. I want to, but part of me doesn't…"

He was pacing frantically. Aly was beyond confused, and asked, "What are you---?"

"Here," he hastily shoved a box into her hand.

She looked at it. "Is this my present?"

He nodded furiously at the ground as he continued to pace. She merely looked at the small box in her hand.

"Well, open it!" he snapped.

She slowly did. It was a bluish, velvety box that looked like it would hold a ring. Sure enough, it did. It was a large cut sapphire. It's color was the deepest blue Aly had ever seen, almost black, but, even in the moonlight, unmistakeable blue. It was set in silver with a small symbol laid over the stone. Aly couldn't understand why anyone would want to cover such a beautiful stone.

"I knew it," Sirius began murmuring again. "It was stupid. Ridiculous. What a dumb idea. I should've known…"

"Sirius," Aly tried to interrupt. "Sirius!" She finally barked.

He stopped and looked at her. He came towards her. "I'm sorry," he stated, "I didn't mean to offend you. I just thought, that maybe--"

"What is it?" Aly asked. Clearly the ring had some sort of significance. She just didn't know what it was.

He looked surprised as his eyebrows rose. "What?"

"I don't know what it is," Aly stated.

"Oh," he said running his hands through his hair. "It's a crest ring."

Aly looked at it. Now that he mentioned it, it was a crest sitting on the stone. "What's a crest ring?"

Again, he looked taken aback. "It's a longstanding tradition in the wizard world," he explained. He sighed heavily before continuing, "Each family has a crest. Back in the Renaissance, at least I think that's when it started, wizard families began using their crests everywhere: clothes, homes, even animals were branded with it. Some families still use theirs today. Well, the crest ring came about as a way to display which family you belonged to, as an outsider."

"An outsider?" Aly frowned. She didn't like the sound of that.

"Outsider as in not from the family originally. Like a girlfriend or fiancee. A man would give his girl his family's crest ring to show that she belonged to his family. It was an association thing."

"So, you want me to belong to the Black family?" Aly asked.

"No!" Sirius exclaimed. "God no. That's why I've been so torn. I don't like the history behind it, yet I can't give over the fact that I've always been told that I'm suppose to give it to the girl I love. I know it was stupid. I'll just take it back and get you a real present." He held out his hand, but Aly didn't move. He looked at her frozen form. "Aly, are you alright?" he asked grabbing her by the upper arms to steady her. "Is it one of your spells?"

"You said," Aly gasped, "You said you were going to give this to the girl you love. And you gave it to me."

His ears turned bright red, and his eyes lowered to the ground. "Yeah, I did."

She looked at him, her eyes swimming. "You love me?"

His hands that were still on her dropped. "Yeah. So?"

He was acting like a petulant child, but Aly didn't care. It was the first time he had ever admitted to it. She looked at the ring and knew she would cherish it, regardless of the past and meaning behind it. That ring showed the world that Sirius loved her, and she would wear it every single day.

She slide it on her left hand ring finger and held it up to admire it in the moonlight. "Thank you," she said. He looked up to see her making the stone dance in the pale light.

"You'll wear it?"

"Of course," Aly said with a smile. "I love it," she exclaimed as she threw her arms around his neck. "And I love you."

"You do?" he beamed.

"Yes, I do," and she kissed him.

"And to think I almost bought you a toaster."

XxXxX

Aly's birthday was, by all means, the best she ever had. All of her gifts were perfect, and all of the professors got more than a little tipsy. It made the rest of the evening a very entertaining spectacle. The next morning when McGonagall came shuffling into the room Aly heard James snigger. McGonagall sent him a deadly glare.

At lunch, Aly saw Sirius for the first time that day. He beamed as he saw the ring still on her hand. He explained to her that the ring was magical. It would only fit the finger of the person it truly belonged to. Regulus' jaw nearly hit the floor when he saw that it sat upon her finger. Aly didn't wait around to hear his remarks about it. And as much as she loved her new ring, Aly worried about what would come along with it.

She was laying on Sirius' bed one night worrying about what she thought was expected of her now. Sirius was oblivious of this as he worked on something not related to school. He was very deep in his book when Aly blurted out, "Do we have sex now?"

He didn't look up right away, but, when he did, he slowly lifted his eyes into a furrowed brow. He merely blinked a few times at her, seeming lost for words.

Realizing he wasn't going to find his tongue, Aly sat up. "Well, do we?"

He looked to the left and then to the right. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"Sex," Aly stated feeling a bit aggravated that he was taking so long to comprehend.

"I got that." He still seemed unsure of how the conversation was going.

Aly sighed loud and exaggerated.

"Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying I haven't wanted to, but what do you mean 'do we have sex now?'"

Aly lowered her eyes. She subconsciously began to toy with the crest ring.

"Is this because of the ring?" Sirius asked looking down at her twiddling fingers. "Do you think that because I gave it to you that I expect sex in return?"

The look he gave her, a cross between disapproval and disbelief, made her blush and feel stupid. "Kinda," she mumbled.

His finger found her chin and lifted her head so he could look into her eyes. "Aly, I would never give you something hoping for sex in return. You know that." Aly nodded. "Now," his tone changed into a more playful tone, "If you want to, that's a different story." He smiled and wiggled his eyebrows at her.

Aly felt a little bit better and smiled at him. "Well,"

His eyes went wide. "What? Really?"

"Well, I'd be lying as well if I said I hadn't thought about it either," she admitted. It was true. Over the summer, especially after a particularly heated make out session on the couch, she wondered what exactly it would be like to go all the way with Sirius.

He seemed to be studying her rather intensely. When he saw her looking at him, he nodded and said, "Interesting."

She shook her head and smiled. "Why is it interesting?"

"Well, you've thought about it, and I've thought about it. Bees do it. Birds do it. So…" he trailed off and looked at her sheepishly.

"So?" Aly teased pulling on the top of his shirt and pulling him over her.

Next thing she knew, she was on her back, throughly enjoying whatever he was doing with his mouth on her neck. She felt ready for this. However, as his hands moved down her body and his lips were back on hers, she froze. For some reason, the frightening memory of Logan's hands on her filled her mind. As Sirius' hands moved up under her shirt, she reacted in fear. Her teeth bite down hard on Sirius' bottom lip. With a loud swear, Sirius pulled himself up and off of her. His lip was bleeding rather profusely.

Aly sat up and cupped her hand over her mouth in horror. "Oh my god. I'm so, so sorry."

He was sitting on the edge of the bed with his shirt pulled to his mouth.

"I'm so, so sorry. I just…and… Logan…and…you…"

He turned angry eyes on her. "Logan? You were thinking about Logan?" He stood and started to walk towards the door.

"Sirius," she yelped, tears starting, "It's not like that. I was thinking about the time he tried to get me to sleep with him. You just reminded me of that, and I freaked. I'm so sorry." She was bawling at this point.

He had stopped and was standing in the middle of the room. His back was to her. She could tell he was breathing heavy, but wasn't sure if it was due to the kissing or the anger.

"Please," Aly pleaded. "Forgive me. I wasn't intentionally thinking about him. I wouldn't."

He turned afflicted eyes upon her. "I reminded you of him?"

"No," Aly jumped off of the bed. She rushed over to him. She had somehow managed to make the whole thing worse. "No, you never, EVER treat me the way he did. But the situation was very similar, and I just…" she had no other words for what had happened.

He turned his head back towards the door. After what felt to Aly like an eternity, she heard him whisper, "I knew you weren't ready."

Anger stirred in her chest. How dare he tell her she wasn't ready? She was too angry for words and simply moved around him and out the door. "Aly," he called and followed her.

He stopped her in the middle of the staircase.

"Als,"

She yanked away from his hold.

"No," he said holding onto to her shoulders. "You don't just get to walk away. We have to talk about this."

"What's there to talk about?" she snapped. "You already said enough."

"I said what I thought. That's what we're suppose to do right?" Aly could tell he was trying very hard not to lose his cool.

"Yeah, but if you knew I wasn't ready then why would you go let it get as far as it did?"

He looked taken aback by this, and stuttered, "I, I, I…I don't know." He hung is head. "I guess I was just excited about the prospect. I shouldn't have let it even start."

Aly felt bad looking at him.

"Sirius," Aly started, but he interrupted.

"Look, we can just take this slow. I will not cross that line again until I know you're ready."

Aly stared up at him. "Really?" She didn't know whether to be happy about this or mad that he didn't want to rush her. She decided that it was better to think it put her mind at ease. "Alright." She kissed him on the cheek. "Let's get that lip of yours cleaned up.

XxXxX

The conversation about sex never seemed to be far from their minds. Sirius was almost stingy when it came to them being together. It began to frustrate Aly. She continually confronted him about it, but he always took the same stance: "When you're ready."

This wouldn't have bothered her so much if Aly's mind didn't question how many other girls Sirius had been with without any questions or boundaries like he had for her. The number bother her so much she actually asked him about it one day. It was something they had never talked about, and he didn't seemed inclined to start now.

"Please tell me!" she begged following him up the stairs to his room.

"No," he tried to close the door to the bedroom before she could follow him in, but she stopped it with her shoulder. She ignored the pain and followed him.

"Tell me. Tell me, tell me, tell me!"

He stared at her. His brown eyes boar into her with an intensity that she had to look away. She had never really realized how unnaturally beautiful he was. The shape of his face was perfect. All of his features were exactly symmetrical. Even his hair fell perfectly to frame his eyes which were still starring at her. Of all bad things the Blacks had credited to them, Sirius had to be the best thing they had ever done.

Aly sighed. He had manage to get her mind off topic, which was probably what he had wanted. She looked down at his hands and all she could think about was how many of the girls she passed every single day had been touched by them. She cleared her throat, "So…" With his eyes still on her, she was lost for any other verbals.

He smiled slightly, but it was a sad smile.

"Say something!" Aly stomped her foot as she said this. His smile became more defined.

"Hi."

"That doesn't count!"

"What do you want me to say?" he asked.

"Something."

"Ok, 'something.'"

"Sirius!" she swatted him playfully.

At her returned smile, he gently put a finger between her eyes. "Why are you worried about this?"

"Worried?"

"You've got a little crinkle right here," he said as he gently poked her between the eyes again.

"So?" she responded defensively.

"It means you're worried."

She sighed and knew it gave her away. He set his face. "What do you want me to do? Point them out as we walk by?"

"Yes," Aly answered honestly before she could stop herself.

He snorted and muttered, "Like that'd go well."

Aly snapped at him, "That many, huh?" She felt hurt. Maybe he was right. Maybe he shouldn't tell her.

"It's not that, Als. It's just I'd prefer to not be reminded of you and Logan. So I'm sure you don't want to hear about me."

"That's true," Aly agreed. "I don't go around talking about all of the guys I've been with."

"All of the guys? There's more than one?" he looked as if he didn't believe her.

"Yes," Aly snapped.

His eyebrows went up.

"I need to go look for Lily," she said, her voice giving away the fact that she was upset. "I'm suppose to meet her."

"Aww, Als. Tell me about 'all of your guys'." He couldn't hide the laughter in his voice.

Aly stormed from the room. She found Lily in the common room studying. Aly leaned against the arm of the couch Lily was sitting on. A third year she had helped pick up his books the day before waved at her as he walked past.

"That one of your guys?" Sirius joked as he entered the room.

"Her guys?" Remus asked from the Marauder's table.

"All of the guys she's been with," Sirius continued with the laugh still in his voice.

"Who besides Logan?" Remus studied Aly.

"I don't know." Sirius rolled with laughter.

Remus looked at her and asked, "Who? Someone over the summer? A muggle?"

Aly's face was burning red and fuming.

"Oh," Lily said looking up from her work, "Did you finally tell him about Brandon?"

Sirius stopped laughing instantly, and his eyes narrowed. "Who's Brandon?"

Aly felt deep retribution for the joke he had found in the situation.

"No one," Aly said standing, and stalking up the stairs to her room.

XxXxX

"Who's Brandon?" Sirius cornered her in the library.

"No one," Aly snapped not looking at him and scanning for a book.

"Why haven't you told me about him?"

"There's nothing to tell." Aly opened a book, scanned it, and put it back on the shelf.

"Lily seemed to think it was something I needed to know." He looked almost crazed with jealousy.

"It's no big deal," Aly said, picking up another book. "He's just some weird guy who liked me over the summer, and he kissed me. Trust me, it stopped as quickly as it started."

"He kissed you?" His eyes went wide in their crazed state. "Some filthy muggle kissed you?"

"Hey now," Aly was upset that he used the fact that Brandon was a muggle against Brandon. It wasn't like him.

"Did he? Did he put his lips on you?"

"Well, yes…" before she could finish he had grabbed her roughly and began kissing her almost violently. Aly's book fell out of her hand with a thud. He pushed her back against the shelves, and the books shuddered and a few fell. Aly's arms went around his neck, and he held her firmly on the hips. His fingertips were going to leave bruises, but Aly didn't care. His lips were too much of a distraction.

"What is going on?" Madam Pince appeared around the corner to see what had caused the noise. Sirius and Aly looked at her and then ran before she could regain herself. As they ran out the doors of the library, Aly heard her yell, "Your father will hear about this!"

Sure enough, right before dinner, she and Sirius were called to his office. Once they were seated in the headmaster's office. Dumbledore looked at them in anger. Aly thought that he should be more upset than angry.

"The library?" he asked angrily.

There was no response.

"You are sixth years."

Again, no response.

"You should know better." He was annoyed. "I am sick and tired of hearing about the two of you copulating in public places."

"We were **not** copulating," Aly informed him. "Nor have we been," she added bitterly.

"Aly," Sirius snapped through clenched teeth.

"Well, we haven't!"

Sirius nearly growled as he stated, "This is not something to be discussed with the headmaster. Let alone your father."

Aly rolled her eyes, "Whatever."

Dumbledore turned in his chair to examine Fawkes, leaning in very closely. Sirius glared hard at Aly. Aly stared at a previous headmaster snoring in his frame. There was about 10 seconds of awkward silence before Aly snapped, "Why can't you just get over it and do it?"

"Aly!" Sirius yelped like she had hit him.

"Well, you won't! You'll do it with every other freakin' girl in the world but not me!"

Sirius' ears burnt bright red.

Dumbledore cleared his throat uncomfortably. Aly turned to him, "You've had him in here for this type of thing before. Have you not?"

The headmaster looked trapped. "Yes," he answered.

Aly smack Sirius' arm in response. "What is your problem?!"

"Oww, that was **not** necessary."

"Not necessary? You know what's not necessary? Your sudden need to be celibate!"

Sirius cleared his throat and said calmly, "I'm sure _your father _would agree that that is for the best."

Aly's eyes went wide. "You two are working together?" She jumped up and then, after an extreme groan of pain, fell back into the chair. She had been active since she had been thrown into the shelves. The short moment of sitting still, letting all of her muscles relax, brought the full force of the pain on her as she jumped up.

"What's wrong?" Sirius asked moving almost all of the way out of his chair.

"Shelves," Aly groaned.

"What of them?" Sirius asked quizzically, not putting two and two together.

"Being thrown into them tends to hurt," Aly grumbled as she adjusted her body in the chair.

Sirius' color left his face.

"You threw her?" Dumbledore strained to keep his voice even.

Aly felt anger ripple through her. He sat behind his desk, unmoved by her pain, and he dare be mad at the sweet boy who was worried about her.

"I didn't realize that I did it so hard." Sirius said towards Dumbledore, but turned to Aly as he said, "You didn't say it hurt." His eyebrows were so pursed together that they looked to be one.

"It didn't," Aly said meekly, but Sirius saw through the lie.

Apparently, her father did too. "Mr. Black, you will not throw my daughter, or anyone else for that matter, again. Understand?"

Sirius would've responded, but Aly had tried to shift, and he was too preoccupied with her outlet of air.

"I'm fine," she reassured him. "Really."

"Alyson," Dumbledore inquired, "Has he ever done this before?"

"No!" both of them gasped.

"I did not inquire of you, Mr. Black," the headmaster snapped.

"Don't you talk to him like that." Aly snapped back.

"Alyson, lift your shirt."

"Excuse me?" She knew she must've missed heard him.

"I want to examine your back. Decide if you need to go to the nurse or not."

Aly sat defiantly and glared. Dumbledore stared right back. Neither were going to budge.

Sirius looked at her and requested, "Please just do it." The look on his face told Aly that he was curious too.

"Fine," she mumbled and tried to keep her noise to a minimum as she stood and turned to lift her shirt.

Sirius groaned loudly and sank back into his chair with his hand over his eyes.

"It's not too bad," Dumbledore said simply. "No medical attention required. Maybe a muscle relaxation potion to help with the pain."

"Great," Aly mumbled as she lowered her shirt causing the front to move up slightly in the process.

"Oh god!"

Aly looked at the outcry from her boyfriend, and felt slightly annoyed. Whatever he had gasped at could've been kept until later. He needed to restrain himself in front of her crazy father. She glanced down as she adjusted her shirt and saw what had upset him.

Her hips had purple imprints of Sirius' fingers on the soft skin. She let out a soft "Oh." She had known they were coming but had forgotten about it until just then.

"What?" Dumbledore asked brusquely.

"Huh?" Aly asked trying to act as if she hadn't heard him. Not waiting for him to reply, she held out her hand to Sirius. He just looked as the extended hand. His face was sickly: pale, sweaty, and eyes wide. "Sirius," she moved forward, her back muscles contracting. While she could keep her father from knowing she was in pain, she couldn't hide her face from Sirius.

He jumped up in reaction to it. He took her by the elbow to hold her. "I'm so sorry," he told her as he studied her face cautiously.

"I'm okay. Really." She smiled lovingly at him, and he seemed to relax a little bit.

"You are not," her father announced from behind her. "Mr. Black, I believe detention is in order."

"Excuse me?" Aly swung around and let out a hiss and bent over to use her knees to hold herself up.

"He damaged you, Alyson. It cannot go unpunished."

"This is only because I'm your daughter," she declared.

"This is because this school condones any sort of physical violence."

"There was no violence!" Aly tried to straighten up. Her balance was shot though, and Sirius put his arm around her waist to help steady her.

"I would remove your hand from my daughter's body, Mr. Black," Dumbledore said through clenched teeth.

Sirius didn't move. Aly had clung onto his shirt. "Professor, I admit that I made a huge error in judgement. I never should've moved Aly in such a fashion, but I will not let go of her now."

She smiled gratefully at him. "I'm fine. I think I just need to lie down. Wouldn't you agree, dad?"

Dumbledore looked even more upset than before. "I suppose so," he responded, standing up for the first time since they got there.

"Sirius, you'll walk me back?"

"Of course," he said simply.

They left with no argument from her father, but Aly knew that it wouldn't be the last she'd hear of it. Aly tried to be patient with Sirius who took to walking very slow. She wasn't exactly tired and didn't want Sirius to leave her so she asked, "Stay with me?"

He looked torn, but directed her towards his room when they reached the tower. He insisted that she lay down on his bed once in the room. He sat on the edge of the bed with his back to her.

She ran her fingers over his back. "Tell me what your thinking."

He didn't say anything, but heaved a sigh. After another few moments of silence, he said, "I'm going to get you that muscle relaxer."

He left a crestfallen Aly. She needed to tell him she wasn't mad at him. She didn't care about the marks on her body. She had been wanting him to kiss her like for a long while. He rarely just gave into his emotions like he had in the library.

When he returned, he handed the potion to her and said, "This will probably put you to sleep."

She looked at him wanting to talk. "Take it," he instructed.

She frowned so he added, "I'll be here when you wake up."

She nodded and took the potion. Sure enough, she did drift of into a restless sleep only a few minutes later.

XxXxX

Aly woke to a dark room. The curtains were closed around the bed. Sirius was sitting next to her. It was almost completely pitch black, but she could tell by his breathing that he was awake. She stretched, and he twitched slightly out of surprise.

"What time is it?" she asked in a voice thick with sleep.

"Not sure," he mumbled picking at his finger nails.

Aly pulled herself up so she was sitting. Her back hardly hurt. She knew she had just needed to lay down. (Plus, the potion probably didn't hurt.) "It's not morning, is it?"

"No."

His answer was short. Aly pulled her legs up and rested her chin on her knees. He was still upset about what had happened. "We're not gonna talk about this, are we?"

She heard no response from him. She heaved a sigh, and swung her legs over the side of the bed. She pulled back the curtain, and slide into the darkness. She whispered "Lumos" which showed that all of the beds were filled by their sleeping owners. She tip toed out of the room. At the bottom of the stair, there was a low glow emitting from the fireplace as the last embers fought to stay lit.

Aly heard muffled footsteps behind her. She knew without turning that Sirius had followed her.

"You didn't hurt me," she said towards the fire. A sound of disbelief came from behind her. Aly shook her head and continued to stare at the fire.

After a very long period of silence, Sirius spoke, "I'm no better than him."

Aly turned, "What are you talking about?"

He looked sick as he said, "I left marks on your body. It makes me sick to think that at the end of the day I am no better than Logan."

"But,"

"No, Aly," he closed his eyes and shuddered, "Regardless of what you say, I bruised you."

Aly moved towards him. Sirius took a step back. Aly, frustrated with him, grabbed him roughly by the wrist. "Listen to me. This is different. Logan never worried about me after something happened. You worry. That makes you different."

He shook his head quickly.

"Yes, Sirius. Yes, you are different." She looked up at him with oversized eyes. He held her gaze. "Believe me." It wasn't a question or a request. It was a demand. Without moving his gaze from hers, he nodded. "Good," she replied. She went and sat on one of the couches. He didn't follow immediately, but, after a wave of her hand, Sirius joined her.

They sat in silence for some time. Sirius slipped his hand into hers just before his head landed on her shoulder. His breathing told her he had fallen asleep. Aly sat and watched the last embers die out, resting her head on top of his.


	53. an Attack, a Vision, a Death, a Bleeding

This is so long over due, I can't even count how many months this is overdue on one hand. It's been that long! Oy. I'm so sorry for the time lapse in posting. I started law school in August, and it, basically, took over my life. Long story short, I decided that I'd rather go to grad school for English than finish law school. No one should be sitting in Constitutional Law and working on their fanfiction. It's just not right. So, here's Aly's triumphant return to the web. I really hope it lives up to all those months of pining for her.

XxXxX

Sirius did serve a detention for the incident in the library. He didn't tell Aly about it until afterwards (with good reason.) Aly threw a fit. Sirius let her rant and rage around the common room. After putting out the fire that had been set to one of the curtains in the room, he took her in his arms, and it was all soon forgotten.

The cold set in unusually slow. It came as a shock when the warmer weather finally broke on the last day of classes. Most students were headed home that day, and the train had to be extricated from the immense amount of snow.

Christmas went by much faster than Aly would've liked. Sirius spent the beginning of break with the Potters, but reappeared on Boxing Day. Aly wondered what he would get her for Christmas since he had already given her his crest ring. To her surprise, he managed to top it. He presented her with another family heirloom. She sat and stared at it for a good five minutes before she managed to stutter, "Tha, tha, thank you." It was a 33 carat pure black diamond. It was cut in a pear shape and was surrounded by diamonds.

"Where did you get this?" she asked, afraid to touch it. She ran her fingers around the edge of the box it sat in.

"My Uncle Alphard just died, and he left me a whole bunch of family things. And a lot of money. He apparently had a bunch of family heirlooms when the rest of the family disowned him. My great-great-and-so-on grandfather Kornephoros used to hunt in Africa. Apparently, he had found a crapload of diamonds. This one is the Amsterdam Diamond. It's a treasured possession of the Black family because of it's color. And now it's yours."

Aly looked up at him, her jaw falling again. "Why are you giving it to me? It's too big. I'll never be able to wear it."

He smiled at her like she was a child, "Why would I need a diamond? I won't use it, and, who knows, maybe, someday, you will have a place to wear it."

"You could sell it," Aly suggested.

Sirius let out a bark of a laugh. It was becoming more and more doglike every day. "I just told you, my Uncle Alphard left me a huge vault of gold. I don't need to sell it."

Aly still looked weary so he took her hand and told her, "Just keep it. It's yours now. And, if it makes you feel any better, this way I'll know that it's in good hands."

XxXxX

January brought with it harsh winds and dreary days. The death on the train wasn't forgotten, but it had been pushed to the back of everyone's minds.

A Hogsmeade weekend had been scheduled for the last weekend in January, and Aly was antsy to get off of school grounds. It wasn't that she didn't enjoy the company. The Marauders found ways to amuse her every day. Their antics had been kicked up a notch with all of the students being stuck inside the castle due to the never ending snow. And Lily had become a bit more lenient on the rules after Aly had told her (and only her) about the Death Eater list from the train. So the two of them (Lily suddenly taking on a more carpe diem outlook on things) went the kitchens almost every night to get sweets and hot chocolate. Once, James commented on the excessive amount of cocoa Aly ingested to which she remarked with a shrug, "It's a Dumbledore thing."

No, it wasn't the people. It was the walls. They seemed to move in on her as the cold days drug on. And, Aly thought, they very well may have actually moved in to keep warm since the windows had been known to fly open and chimneys spilt in the summer.

Aly was huddled over her broom on the quidditch pitch the Wednesday before the Hogsmeade trip. She was mumbling obscenities at James, who had been made Captain over the summer and who had insisted that they prepare for their next match against Ravenclaw. She was having a hard time even holding her head up into the wind, let alone riding around full speed in it.

Sirius was floating around happily trying to catch snowflakes on his tongue. His face was bright red, and Aly figured he was probably past the point of having feeling in it. The rest of the team looked more like Aly. Nobody was moving much, and all of them were hunched over their handles.

James yelled something from below. However, none of his teammates could hear him over the howl of the wind and the Whomping Willow. The two seemed to be engaged in a war to see who could be louder. James didn't take to being ignored too kindly and started whipping around them waving his arms in anger. Aly flew, as slowly as she could, towards Dorrigo Bruneteau, the other beater, and instructed him to hit her with a bludger so they could leave. She had to yell the direction a second time because of all the background noise. Again, his response was to shake his head and shrug. So Aly took matters into her own hands and whacked him with her club. He shrieked, not expecting it, and flew towards the ground. Aly followed him, smiling smugly behind the scarf she had wrapped around her face. The rest of the team followed suit.

James was the last to land. He started yelling at them for leaving, but no one listened. Aly wrapped Dorrigo's arm over her shoulders and helped him to the locker room. She sat him down, and after making a few apologies ("I swear I didn't even see you!") and making sure he was okay, Aly headed to the girl's side of the room to change.

She was sitting on a bench, wearing her heavy cloak, her scarf, ear muffs and a hat, and her gloves, when Sirius peaked around the lockers. "What are you doing?"

She turned to look at him. He was already changed, and the wrinkles that appeared on his forehead whenever he was confused or surprise were prominent. "Trying to warm up before we have to head back out into the cold," she told him. He came over and sat down in front of her, straddling the bench. He made a quick scan of the room.

"So, I wanted to talk to you about something."

"Speak," Aly said, not moving, enjoying the snugness of the clothes cocoon she created.

He ran his fingers threw his hair and said, "Hogsmeade is coming up."

"Yep," Aly said absentmindedly. She was humming in her head a song she had heard earlier that day. "I was wondering if you wanted to go with me," she heard Sirius say.

"What? Why?" Aly asked, the tune quickly being overshadowed by his statement.

Sirius' ear turned bright red, and he looked at the floor bashfully.

"Why wouldn't I go with you? Do you really need to ask?" Aly pushed the scarf down from around her mouth and held it down with her chin. She pushed her sleeves up as he turned to look at her.

"We've never been a real date. I figured I'd ask, and make it official." He looked like he felt extremely stupid about his question. Aly, however, thought it was sweet, and felt her heart leap.

"Of course I'll go with you to Hogsmeade. I'd love to."

He turned excited eyes on her, "Really?"

"Cha!" Aly exclaimed and pounced on him and kissed him. His bark of a laugh filled the room and echoed.

XxXxX

Saturday morning rose in a burst of sunshine. However, it was still bitterly cold. Aly reluctantly covered up her carefully picked out outfit. Sirius was waiting for her in the Great Hall. They ate breakfast with the Marauders and Lily, but headed off before everyone else. As they walked down the lane towards the town, Sirius entwined his fingers in hers.

They spent the afternoon going in and out of shops. Aly truly felt like they were a real couple for the first time since they had gotten together as they walked around the small village. Eventually, they joined the others for a butterbeer at Three Broomsticks. They were all headed towards Honeydukes when a scream rang out. The hair on the back of Aly's neck stood on end. A total feeling of déjà vu took over Aly. Hooded figures appeared on the street sending students in every direction.

However, this time, they were spotted in different spots. There were also a lot more of them. They were sending spells every which way. This time, they were clearly there to attack. Aly started to reach for her wand, but Lily's voice rang out in panic, "Sirius, get her back to the castle."

Aly turned towards them. To her dismay, Lily elaborated as no one moved, "They're after her! They'll kill! You have to get her out of here."

Next thing she knew, Aly was being drug off. Sirius' hand was pinching her wrist as he grasped her tightly. Unfortunately, the plan was disrupted. Two of the Death Eaters sent a ring of fire across the gate entrance of the school.

"We've gotta go a different way!" James yelled.

The chaos around them was loud. His voice almost got lost in the crowd. Sirius nodded though, so she knew he had heard. However loud everything around them was, Aly still heard a high pitched laughter, and her blood ran cold.

She had never seen him, but she knew, with hesitation, that Lord Voldemort had just apparated onto the crowded street. His face looked oddly snake like. His eyes looked permanently blood shot. He stood with a sort of arrogance that told Aly he feared no man, and, from what she heard, she guessed he probably didn't.

He seemed to revel in the pandemonium his followers had created. He scanned the scene with a sickening smile on his strange face. His eyes found their target and cut straight threw the crowd to Aly.

He walked, almost floated, through the running students. He stopped about 30 feet away from her. Aly had locked eyes with him as he had started to move and still held it now. With a mere lift of his hand, the masked Death Eaters halted their actions. They moved to form a semicircle around Voldemort facing Aly and the other 5 who were still standing protectively close to her. Sirius tried to move in front of her, but Aly wouldn't allow it. She knew Voldemort would merely kill him to get to her.

Aly stepped out in front of the group. Peter made strange whimper. The street went silent.

"Ah, Miss Dumbledore, I presume," Voldemort stated politely. He looked genuinely happy to meet her.

"Lord Voldemort," Aly stated in response.

"Ah, most people have learned not to use my name," he said, looking slightly impressed.

"Perhaps you prefer Tom?" Aly suggested nonchalantly.

His eyes narrowed slightly, but he kept the menacing smile on his face. "You are your father's daughter," he stated as he walked casually around the wall of Death Eaters.

"Hardly," Aly said irritatedly. She had to admit, she understood why people feared him as she stood there. He held the occupants on the street at the tip of his fingers. No one dared move.

Where his eyebrows would have been rose on the snakelike face. "So, we're more alike than I would have guessed. Both top of our year. Both a teacher favorite. Both have disappointing fathers." He sneered.

Aly felt herself start to shake slightly as she asked, "So, I hear you want to kill me?" She felt the tension immediately. Sirius moved closer to her. The Death Eaters shared looks. Voldemort frowned.

"'Want' is not the right word, Alyson," he said running his long fingers over his wand. "I want to kill very few people. I _have_ to kill those who get in the way."

"Who am I keeping you from?" Aly asked, sweat breaking out all over her body. His wand could easily be turned on her.

"You would merely be an accessory death," he told her lightly.

Aly felt her heart sink slightly as he pointed the wand at her. "NOW!" someone screamed from behind her. Spells shot every which direction. Aly hit the ground as Sirius pushed her down. There was screaming again and running. She felt Sirius pull her up. The fire blocking there entrance into the school disappeared before their eyes. A voice cut threw the crowd, loud and boisterous, "Tom!"

A wild cry came out of Voldemort as Dumbledore ascended down towards him. McGonagall and Flitwick followed closely.

"Back to the castle," McGonagall ordered breathlessly. Sirius didn't need telling twice. Aly, however, refused to go inside. After Sirius had drug her to the castle, she stood on the front steps and waited for the others who had been separated from them. Remus and Peter were the first two to find them. Remus had a gash on his arm. Peter was unharmed but was shaking uncontrollably. Not more than five minutes later (it felt an eternity to Aly), James and Lily found their way to them. Lily's hair tie had fallen out, and her hair was flying every which way except for where it was matted to her forehead on the blood from a cut. James' shirt was torn and his chest was bleeding. It didn't seem to be life threatening though.

They all stood and watched as red and purple, and even green, spells flew around the village. Finally, Flitwick made his way up the walk way. "Inside," he directed. "It's all taken care of now. Inside." He shooed them with his tiny hands.

Aly followed the others, but not before sending a glance over her shoulder at the small town, smoking from the damage invoked upon it.

XxXxX

The next day saw many angry parents arriving at the school. All the students had been called to the Great Hall, and the parents flocked in, rushing to their respective child. The Potters arrived, and Mrs. Potter pulled James and Sirius into a vice grip hug.

"Thank goodness my parents are muggles, and only know what I tell them," Lily mumbled at Aly as they watched Dumbledore make his way up to the front of the hall to address the crowd. The talking died down immediately.

"Good afternoon," he started, looking weary, "I'm glad to see all of you here. Your concern for your children's well being is reassuring, especially as we enter these dark times." He scanned the room. "As you are all well aware, there was an incident in Hogsmeade yesterday afternoon. I hope to elaborate on the many misconceptions and rumors being spread about the situation. Lord Voldemort and his followers, known as Death Eaters, entered the small wizard town and proceeded to attack any pedestrian on the main street. Fortunately, no student was hurt badly. Their target was safely removed from scene before any harm could be done. After a short but portentous conversation with Voldemort, the village of Hogsmeade and this castle shall remain safe and Death Eater free. Believe me, I will see to it." With this, he nodded once and strode the length of the hall and out the doors.

Many parents took this speech to be enough, and began to say their goodbyes. Others were not as convinced.

Dumbledore stood near the grand staircase, and Aly proceeded to walk up to him.

"Great speech, dad," she commented taking her spot on his side and smiling congenially at those who passed past. She had learned to do this from a young age at the Ministry. "Way to show old Voldy your pimp hand." This comment was more of an inside joke she had with Sirius, but he sent her a sideways glance full of unspoken laughter. He didn't get a chance to comment or question it as a very haughty looking woman swooped down upon them.

"Dumbledore," she huffed. Aly examined the woman and thought there was something familiar about the brown eyes staring at her father.

The headmaster opened his mouth to respond, but she continued before he could. "An attack on children and all you have to say is 'I will see to it.' I'll have you know, that it is with good reason that I intend to look into sending my child to Durmstrang. If it isn't bad enough to have...muggleborns admitted," she had hesitated on the use of "mudblood," Aly was sure, "Now, they're going to go and get innocent pure bloods killed for no good reason. My son will be protected, Dumbledore…"

"Sons," Dumbledore corrected.

The woman looked flabbergasted. "Excuse me?"

"You said 'son.' I do believe you meant to say 'sons' seeing that you have two boys in attendance here," he replied causally.

She turned bright red and seemed to struggle with finding something else to say. Aly stared at her, trying to place the eyes. She reached over and scratched an itch she had on her right shoulder, and a gasp exuded from the woman. Aly was as taken aback as her father who had twitched slightly.

It became instantly clear to Aly why she recognized the woman as her husband came up next to her. He jingled slightly from what Aly assumed was gold in his pockets. However, his facial features are what captured her attention. The nose, the mouth, the wrinkle lines on the forehead, even the lock of loose hair lying on his forehead, they all belonged to Sirius.

"Orion, good to see you," Dumbledore said without any of his usual warmth.

"Albus," he replied with a curt nod. He held none of Sirius' charm and lacked the laugh lines that Sirius had already accumulated on his face.

"Walburga was telling me that you two were considering sending Sirius and Regulus to Durmstrang," Dumbledore stated. "Due to the lack of screening done on admitted students here at Hogwarts."

Mr. Black seemed to take great offense to this statement, but Aly was more worried about the glare Mrs. Black was sending at her as she studied her face with great scrutiny.

"We will do what is best for--" Mr. Black had started, but Mrs. Black had cut him off, "Who is this, Dumbledore?"

Both men and Aly were taken back by this question. Aly didn't like the way she had asked the question.

"This is my daughter, Alyson," Dumbledore said oddly, his body language changing. It was clear that he suddenly realized that these people were in cahoots with Death Eaters. He moved ever so slightly in front of her protectively.

"Alberto's granddaughter?" she asked breathlessly.

"Yes," Dumbledore replied curtly.

Her eyes swam with greed. She turned to Mr. Black. "You see that," she said as if trying to have a private conversation with him that everyone else could hear. "A Gershom wearing the Black family crest. Think of the power. The money! Oh, the blood!"

Aly sent her dad a worried glance. He returned it, confusion mixed in.

"Als," she heard a voice call her. James, Remus, and Lily were headed up the staircase, back to the Gryffindor common room. She looked to see Sirius suddenly stop in his path. She saw surprise change to horror to anger to fury in a matter of seconds. He rushed past his parents, grabbed her by the arm, muttered, "Come on," and pulled her upstairs. She sent a backwards glance at those below as they made their way. Mrs. Black was calculating. Mr. Black looked suddenly detached. Regulus, who had appeared behind his father, glared. Dumbledore looked grateful that Aly had been rescued from the situation.

Sirius had no words as he marched her back to the common room. They had passed the other three who were walking more leisurely. They had questioned them, but Sirius kept moving. Once inside the common room, he released her and began pacing.

Aly stood, rubbing her hand that tingled from the blood being cut off by Sirius' grasp. As the others entered the room, Sirius found his tongue. "I can't believe they're here. Ugh. Talking to you like they have any right...well, they don't. Vile, evil, apathetic…" he muttered angrily. Suddenly he turned on her and demanded, "What did they say to you?"

She felt thrown off by his sudden attention to her, but stuttered, "Nah-nothing really."

"I need to know exactly what they said to you." He had taken her by the upper arms and looked almost in pain.

"Well," Aly thought over the conversation. "They never said anything to me. They said something about my grandfather, power, money, and something about blood."

He stared at her for a few seconds and, after releasing her, returned to pacing.

"What's going on?" Lily asked.

"Parents," Aly stated as she turned to see the three of them watching her. She turned her attention to Sirius. "Why does it even matter what they had to say? They're about to leave, and you won't have to see them again."

He turned sharp eyes on her, "It matters. They have connections, Aly. They know all the wrong people. After what happened yesterday, I'm not about to let my connection to you be the reason something happens." He dropped his gaze to floor as he moved.

James and Remus took seats around their table, and Lily came over to Aly. "Is he going to be okay?" she whispered.

Aly shrugged.

"I'm going to library if you need me for anything."

"Library?" Aly muttered with a laugh in her voice.

Lily blushed profusely, but nearly growled, "Yes," as she stormed up the stairs to get her books. Aly chuckled to herself at her friend's benefit. Ever since Aly had found out that Lily had been spending time with Snape on the sly, for so many years, once the wound had healed enough, she always made a point when Lily went off on her own to make some sort of comment about it. Lily had eventually blown up about it, and Aly had commented, "If you have boyfriend, I'll never know cause you so good at keeping secrets!" Lily had fumed over it for days, but had come around eventually and had learned to try to ignore Aly.

"Sirius," Aly said turning back to him, all humor gone from her voice, "No one is going to get inside this castle. My dad made Voldemort his ho. His pimp hand is strong. I'd like to see you find a stronger one."

Sirius turned curious eyes on her. He studied her for a moment then smiled. He came over and wrapped his arms around her. "Your right. Nothing is going to hurt you while we're here. Except maybe some Slytherins but I can take them." He kissed her temple, and a joking "Eww" came from the table with his best friends at it.

"Shut up!" Sirius yelled as Aly wrapped her arms around him and squeezed him tight.

XxXxX

Aly was walking around the castle like usual. She had decided to give Sirius and the rest of the Marauders some "alone" time. She felt lonely as she leaned against a cold wall. Lily was determined, after getting two E's on her O.W.L.s, to get all top marks on her N.E.W.T.s and had decided now was the time to start studying.

Aly heard a loud noise and started towards it.

"Hey!" she exclaimed as she stumbled upon the scene. Dark hoods turned towards her. She didn't fear these hoods though. They were all still pretty short, few of them were actually taller than her. They also lacked the normal death eaters masks. They were all clearly still students.

Aly spotted a small Hufflepuff quivering against a tapestry.

"Leave him alone."

"Oh shut up, Dumbledore." Aly recognized that voice, and she rolled her eyes. As she did, she felt a wave of heat and was taken under the blanket of black. She saw a fuzzy white figure before her. He was bleeding. There was a shadow kneeling over him. There was a string of silver floating between the two of the figures. As the image became more clear, Aly realized who it was laying on the ground, dying. She gasped at this revelation and was pulled awake instantly. She sat up straight. Her head pounded.

All the hoods had vanished. She must've scared them off when she fell. Only one hood remained. He had pulled his hood back to further examine her. His greasy hair still framed his face, but this Snape lacked the wrinkles Aly had seen on the one in her vision. He looked scared.

Aly moved up and past him. Snape followed her though. "Where are you going?" he demanded.

She continued on without a comment. She reached the front hall, and, to her dismay, the Marauders were headed to dinner. Snape came up behind her, hood mysteriously gone. All four of the boys stopped at the sight of them. Aly realized what she must look like: pale, sweaty, wide eyed and scared. Snape reached out towards her, but Aly pulled away. "I'm ok, really. No worries," she muttered to him.

Sirius made a move towards her as she passed. "Really, I'm fine," Aly told him and continued up the stairs. Sirius followed her, attempting to stop her.

"Aly! Come'on, stop! Please!" He was finally close enough to grab her, but she threw her arms up.

"Just leave me alone for a bit, okay?" she asked and took off in a run before he could respond. She flopped down on her bed a few moments later. Tears began to roll down her cheeks. She was haunted by the image she had seen. Not because Snape was dying. No, that was not what bothered her. It had been the shadow of the person looking over his dying body that had haunted her. That person had murdered Snape, she was sure of it. And what she couldn't get out of her mind was the unmistakeable spiky hair standing every which direction on the shadow cast over him.

XxXxX

Aly paced around the dormitory. Her feet creaked on the old floor. She had her arms crossed behind her back, and her head was down. Lily came bounding into the room, worry already on her face. "What's going on?" Lily asked. "Sirius said that Snape…"

Aly grabbed Lily by the arms, "Did he do anything?"

"Who?

"Sirius?"

"No," Lily told her. "He just wanted me to check on you. He's worried about you. What happened?"

Aly breathed a sigh of relief. He hadn't acted rashly like she has feared.

"So," Lily ventured when Aly didn't speak, "What happened?"

"Nothing."

"Nothing?" Lily repeated skeptically.

"Well, nothing involving Snape anyway." Aly sank down on her bed and toyed a snag string on the comforter.

"Aly--"

"I passed out," Aly interrupted her, not wanting to hear the lecture that was sure to come.

"Oh," Lily stated remembering Aly's previous pass outs. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Aly said with a shrug.

"Well," Lily said, still looking weary, "I'm going to go tell Sirius what happened before any of them do anything stupid."

"Thanks," Aly said weakly.

Aly planned to staying up in her room the rest on the night, the scene replaying over and over again in her mind, but Sirius had other plans. First, he started with yells and pleas for her to come downstairs. Eventually, she heard his incantations of charms and spells in an attempt to trick the stairs to let him up them. She heard him explain at one point, "Dumbledore did it. There's got to be a way!" As the evening went on, his spells became more and more dispersed. Aly assumed he was consulting books for help. Finally, her quit completely.

She finally decided to go downstairs when her stomach grumbled so loud she worried it would wake the other girls who were already asleep. To her surprise, the Marauders were all still awake and huddled over books. Aly held up her wand to make herself invisible, but James caught sight of her before she could.

"Hey," he said genially.

Sirius leapt up. "Are you ok?"

Aly shrugged slightly.

"What did he do to you?" he asked briskly.

"Nothing!" Aly said with more gusto than necessary.

"Come'on," James almost whined. "Tell us so we can go punish him!"

Aly's head snapped towards him. "You leave him alone!" she shouted. And with that she stormed from the room.

"Als," she heard Sirius call behind her. She stopped for him. "What's up?"

She took a deep breath. "I _saw_ something." Sirius's interest perked.

"What'd you see?" he whispered as if he was afraid someone was going to hear.

Aly bit her lip and then said, "Uh, I just saw Snape...he saved me from…" she hesitated and Sirius supplied, "Death eaters?"

"Yes, death eater. He saved me from death eaters," she told him. "So, you all should be nice to him. And leave him alone."

Sirius studied her and finally said, "Okay, fine."

"You have to tell the others. Especially James."

"Fine, fine. James too." Sirius promised. "But why are you hiding out?"

Aly thought quick on her feet again. "I'm just upset about the prospect of having death eaters attack me."

He pulled her into a hug and kissed her forehead. "Nothings ever for sure. Things can change."

"Hopefully," Aly mumbled into his chest.

XxXxX

They were all in the common room when James got the news. A strangled noise was emitted from James's throat causing all of them to turn and see that all of the color had left his face.

"Dude, what---" Sirius asked.

"She's dead. My mom's dead," James whispered. The same noise came from Sirius's throat as the color left his face too. James stood and rushed from the room. Sirius looked after him.

"What's going on?" Aly asked from the couch.

"Mrs. Potter," Remus struggled to answer, "She, she died."

"What?" Aly stood.

"No!" Lily's hands went around her mouth.

Aly's eyes immediately went to Sirius. She knew his heart was probably just as broken as James's was. She moved over towards him. As she reached for him, he jumped out of his chair and back away from her outstretched hand.

"I should go talk to him," Sirius said running his hands through his hair.

"No," Lily said quietly and stood. "Let me. I-I-I should be the one." Sirius considered this and then nodded. With that, Lily left the room.

Aly turned to back to Sirius. She reached out to him, but, again, he moved away from her.

"Who knows where he went. We should go help Lily look for him. Just in case she can't find him." With that, he strode from the common room as well.

Aly looked to Remus for some explanation. "He's right," Remus said adding a shrug. "We should go help. James could be anywhere."

They all separated outside the common room. Aly wasn't really interested in finding James. If he wanted to be found, he would be. Plus, if she was in his shoes, she'd want to be left alone.

She had told Remus she would check the dungeons, but she headed to Hagrid's instead. She found Hagrid in his garden. "Aly!" he greeted her happily. When he saw her face, his tone changed, "What's wrong?"

"James's mom died."

Hagrid seemed to shrink. "How's 'e taken it?"

Aly shrugged.

"How are you?" he asked sending her a sideways glance.

Aly merely shrugged again. She sunk down onto an oversize gourd. Fang came over and placed his head on her knee. She absentmindedly petted his head as Hagrid went back to raking and watering his garden.

"Hagrid!" A familiar voice pulled Aly out of her own head. "You seen James?" Sirius appeared at the fence. "Hey," he said awkwardly when he saw Aly. He looked at Fang with concern. "How'd you depress the dog?"

"Fang's fine," Hagrid told him with a wave of his hand. "E's just lovin' on Als."

Sirius sent Aly a look, and Aly knew that Fang must actually be depressed. Hagrid just wouldn't understand. Not without some complicated explanations, anyway.

Remus appeared next to Sirius. "He's not by the lake."

"Hey," Remus said tersely. Aly was startled by his off-ness.

"Not by the greenhouses," Peter announced as he arrived. He didn't even bother to greet Aly. He just glared at her.

Aly stood and made her way over to the fence. Lily came jogging over to them. She was gasping for air as she said, "He's in the astronomy tower."

The boys started to take off, but Aly grabbed Sirius by the elbow. He shrugged her off. Tears stung Aly's eye, and she felt all the air leave her lungs. "Lily," she turned towards her friend. Lily just shook her head and followed after the boys. Aly's mouth fell open.

Hagrid, sensing that this wasn't normal, put his hand on her shoulder. She shrugged it off and climbed over the fence. She took off towards the castle, taking the longer route so she could avoid those who clearly wanted nothing to do with her.

XxXxX

"Sirius!" She found him later that evening. He kept walking along the corridors as if he hadn't heard her. "Sirius Orion Black, I know you can hear me!" she snapped.

He stopped but didn't turn to face her.

"What's wrong?" Aly asked, the amended, "Besides the obvious. Why aren't you talking to me?" She moved around him to see his face, and his eyes lowered. "Or looking at me?"

He replied with nothing.

"What did I do? Why are you ignoring me?"

He made no movement.

Aly shook slightly, voice thick with tears, as she said, "Fine. Be an ass." She turned to leave, but his hand caught her arm.

"I never understood," he told her, "What you had meant, before, about how the Death Eaters and Voldemort will do anything to get to you. That they'll take out anyone to get to you. I just never thought they'd ever actually kill anyone to get to you. And now, Mrs. Potter is dead."

All the air left her body. She felt numb. They all thought she was the reason that Mrs. Potter was dead. Sirius left her standing there, mind racing. Was he, were they all, right?

XxXxX

Aly, anger and fear swelling in her chest, stormed through the door. Her father jumped in surprise as she caused his office door to hit the wall with a bang.

"Alyson…"

"She's dead," Aly cut off. "She's dead."

"Ah," Dumbledore's face hardened, and he lowered his quill. "I see James got the news."

Aly stared at her father for a few moments. "Was it because of me?"

He looked thrown off by this accusation. "Because of you?"

"I'm with Sirius who's best friend is James who's mother is dead. Am I reason she's dead?"

"No," he stated, still sounding surprised. He stood and walked around to the front of his desk, which he leaned back on, and examined her.

"This isn't because Voldemort wants to get to me?"

"Aly," his eyes were crinkled with sadness, "This has nothing to do with you."

"But someone close to me is dead," she explained. "It only seems logical."

"No, Alyson, don't put the heavy burden of a death on yourself."

"But…"

"Aly, Mrs. Potter died of pneumonia."

Aly's mind stopped dead. "Pneumonia?"

"Yes," he stood up, "A common muggle disease."

"Wizards don't die of pneumonia!" Aly exclaimed. "Muggles don't even die from it!"

"Why are you so upset about this?" he asked placing his hands on her shoulders. "I know you liked Mrs. Potter, but there is no need to get so worked up."

"People are dying everyday. I just never thought that it would be this close to home again." Aly said dropping her head.

"There will likely be more before this is all over," he told her sadly.

Aly sighed heavily. She was afraid of that.

"Alyson, we must be strong. Things will happen, people will die. I am doing everything in my power to keep that number as low as possible."

Aly nodded, tears welling, still thinking about Mrs. Potter.

"Oh, no tears."

"I just really liked Mrs. Potter," she told him wiping away the tears with the back of her hand.

He looked at her and sounded even more sad as he said, "Me too, Aly. Me too."

XxXxX

When she reached Gryffindor tower, she found James sitting alone.

"Hey," she said taking Sirius's usual seat.

James looked up. His eyes were weary and red.

"Lily find you?" Aly asked, pushing her hair behind her ear.

James nodded.

"I'm so so sorry, James," Aly said simply.

He swallowed hard. "Thank you, Aly."

Aly was vaguely surprised by his civility. "If there's anything I can do, let me know." She gently touched his hand.

He nodded and looked at her, tears brimming in his eyes and asked, "Sit with me?"

Aly blinked quickly, but recovered quick enough to say, "Ok."

After a long while, James sniffled and told her, "Lily says we're lucky." Aly met his eyes. "That you've never known a mother's love. You've never had what we had and we should be so grateful to have had the time we had with our moms because you never got any with yours."

Aly felt her chest tighten. "She's right. You got 16 years with your mom. Those are years you should cherish." She squeezed his hand.

"Pneumonia!" he stuttered angrily. "Who dies of the freakin' flu?!"

"My mother died from childbirth. How many women really die from that?" Aly mumbled.

"She's dead. She's dead. I just can't believe it…" he started to sob.

Before Aly knew what was happening, he was on the floor, crying onto her knees.

Aly, who was taken aback, awkwardly stroked his head.

"James?" Remus' voice came from behind.

"Hey guys," James said quickly, wiping away his tears and jumping up.

"Why were you…" Sirius asked motioning to Aly.

"It was nothing, man," James told him. "I swear."

"No, I just meant," Sirius bobbed his head, "About your mom and her."

Aly's heart missed a beat. He wouldn't even say her name.

"What are they talking about?" James asked Aly.

"They think I'm the reason your mom died," Aly told him wearily.

"What?" James nose crinkled. "Why?"

"They think death eaters killed her," Aly continued.

"That's absurd," James stated and turned to them. "My mom died of pneumonia. She was sick."

All four of their faces changed into regret. "What?" Sirius sounded strangled.

Aly closed her eyes and took in a deep breath. She stood as James repeated himself.

"Aly," she heard Sirius say, but she ignored him and made her way out of the portrait hole. She knew they were right to question the connection. She knew that more likely than not she was going to be the cause of death to those close to her. She knew that she couldn't really be mad at them. She just needed a moment away from . . . from reality.

XxXxX

Aly had returned to the common room later that night, and Sirius apologized over and over again for blaming her. She merely forgave him over and over again. She knew, based on what he knew about the situation, that Sirius wasn't wrong in assuming what he did. He had apparently shared his theory with the other 3 who believed him. Remus and Lily both apologized as well. Peter merely mumbled something incoherent.

They all went to the funeral three days later. Aly wore the huge black diamond Sirius gave her pinned to her turtleneck. He broke the first smile she had seen on his face since news of Mrs. Potter's death had reached them. However, he was still on edge all morning and barked at just about everybody. James was silent. At the cemetery, Mr. Potter looked frail and pale.

"He doesn't look well," Aly whispered to Sirius.

"His wife just died," Sirius snapped. "How should he look?" Aly held her comments to herself after that, but kept an eye on Mr. Potter none-the-less.

Lily clung close to Aly most of the day. She was clearly shaken up, memories of her own mom's passing causing her to cry more than she normally would have.

After the service, they made their way back to Potter Manor. Many people arrived at the house, mostly Ministry people. James stood almost stone-like beside his father at the foot of the staircase in the front hall. Aly was sure there were few other staircases that were as old or as beautiful as the Manor's except maybe Hogwarts. Lily kept a very close eye on James.

A large woman was bawling all over the two Potter's telling them how they had such a great wife and mother when Lily made her move. She slid up next to James and took his hand. He turned weary eyes on her. "Come'on." She led him up the stairs motioning the others to follow her.

They found their way up to the ornate room that Lily and Aly had occupied the night before. Aly had requested from her father to be allowed to leave the school for the evening. He had been hesitant, due to Sirius' staying there Aly was sure, but had agreed. Aly knew that of everyone James would need Lily the most, and Aly also knew Lily would never go alone. As they entered the room, Lily sat James on one of the beds. Sirius handed her a drink to give to him. They all entered a charged silence. As James sipped his butterbeer his color began to return.

Aly turned to Sirius, "He hasn't eaten at all today. You should go get him some food."

Sirius nodded and left the room. James' eyes followed him and stared at the door after he had left. Finally, in a dead voice, he spoke for the first time that day, "He loves you." All eyes turned on him. "He needs you."

After a moment of quiet, Aly said slowly, "I know."

James' head snapped around and his eyes were narrowed. "But if you get him killed, I'll, I'll…" he struggled to find the right words for what he would do. Aly's blood ran cold. It was scary to hear one of her biggest fears spoken aloud, used as a threat against her. She worried about Sirius's involvement in the situation all the time, but she did her best not to speak of it aloud.

"What am I supposed to do?" Aly asked in a small voice.

He seemed to weigh this then sighed. "I dunno."

"Well, he needs you too," Aly said, then added harshly, "So don't go doing anything stupid that you can't take back." Her mind flashed back to the image of James's shadow over a dying Snape. Her features was hard as he opened his mouth, curiosity written all over his face, but he was stopped as Sirius entered the room with the plate of food.

"I hate people," he grumbled as he handed the plate to Lily who took it and began to try to persuade James to eat. The conversation that had been going on before Sirius returned was over, but the static emotions hung high in the air. Sirius slumped down into a chair next to Aly.

"What happened?" she asked, gently rubbing his knee to try to soothe him.

"I just hate people," he mumbled again. Aly let this be. They all went back to being quiet until the silence was broken by a small squeaky voice, "Miss Dumbledore," they all turned to look at a small house elf. "Your father has arrived, and Master Potter has requested you." The elf bowed, and disappeared.

Aly huffed as she stood and started from the room. She felt a hand grasp hers. She turned to see Sirius looking sad. "Let it go for today."

Aly wanted to tell him that she had no intention of fighting with her father, that she was glad he had managed to find the time to come to pay his respects since he had had a Wizengots case that morning that he couldn't get out of, but he stopped her by kissing her on the tip of the nose. He turned and went back to the room.

Aly descended the stairs scanning the crowd for her dad. She found Mr. Potter first. He looked even more sad than he had earlier as he coughed into his handkerchief.

"Mr. Potter," she came up to him.

"Hello,..." he stumbled with her name. He reached into his robe and pulled out his glasses. "Oh, Alyson, it's you. Good to see you." As he said this, some of his usual warmth returned.

"You haven't been wearing your glasses," Aly accused teasingly.

"Ah, well, Mrs. Potter usually reminds me to wear them," he said sadly then leaned in and added in a whisper, "Plus, its easier to not know who you're talking to if you don't actually know who you're talking to." There was a shadow of a sparkle in his eyes. Aly smiled at him. He returned it weakly and coughed again.

"Maybe you should sit down. I'll get you some tea…" Aly started.

"No, no, dear. I'm quite fine." He turned towards a silver haired woman in deep red robes, "Ah, Henrietta, thank you for coming."

Aly moved away and to her surprise found Narcissa Black before her.

"Hi," she said automatically out of surprise.

"Hi?" she returned looking at Aly odd.

"What are you doing here?" Aly blurted.

Narcissa pulled herself up and stated snobbishly, "The Potter's are one of the oldest families of purebloods, and we must stick together." With that, she walked away.

Aly blinked twice and noticed that there were indeed many pureblood purists in the room. That explained Sirius' agitation. Aly turned and headed towards the other end of the house. Her father, luckily, found her.

"Alyson," he said brightly.

"Hi, dad."

"How's James holding up?" he asked looking down at her from his half moon spectacles. She could tell he was trying to gage how she was feeling.

"Ok, I guess." She tried to meet his eyes and tell him without saying it aloud that she was okay. However, his eyes were looking over her head, the corners of his mouth turned down, and scanning the room. "Alyson, go back upstairs," he instructed slowly.

She looked over her shoulder and saw a boy she only knew as Malfoy, standing with two people who had to be his parents, talking to Mr. Potter. Aly looked back at her father, and he suddenly looked so much older to her.

"Ok, dad, but I thought you wanted to see me."

"Oh," he smiled oddly at her, "Yes, well, it can wait."

Aly glanced around again, "Sure?"

He studied her and moved her over to a corner. "I know it's not the best time, but your grandfather's house was decided earlier today."

She blinked at him.

"It's been in the law system for a while," he explained. "Your distant cousins have been arguing that they should have it."

"Okay," Aly replied, not sure what this had to do with her.

"It's yours now," he stated like it should've been obvious.

Aly's eyebrows rose. "But he already left me a house."

"He left you the family compound," Dumbledore corrected. "This is the actual manor."

"I have his house?"

"Yes," he said as he held out a key.

Aly looked at it oddly. "Why does a magic manor need a key?"

Dumbledore smiled at her, knowing she was right. "It doesn't. It's merely a symbolic thing. It passes the sole possession onto you because it carries an owner charm." He dropped it into her hand and it glowed for a moment. "Now, it's yours."

Aly looked at the key and finally asked, "Why was this so urgent?"

Dumbledore looked over her head again, a grim expression coming across his face, and stated, "Because the public knows."

She turned around and realized that he meant that all the purebloods in the room knew about this.

"So, please stay upstairs," he asked her in what almost sounded like a plea.

She nodded and headed back towards the stairs. She found herself caught in a throng of people in middle of the front hall. She heard a low gasp and looked around to see where the noise came from. Her eyes meet the slightly bulging ones that belonged to Mrs. Black. Her brown eyes, so like Sirius', narrowed as they rested on Aly's neck.

"Where…" was all she could get out. Her eyes rose to meet Aly's again, and Aly held the stare as her hand found the large diamond on her neck.

"You're very pretty," Mrs. Black finally said when she spoke. Aly was taken aback by this. "And good family on your mother's side." Mrs. Black moved forward quickly. Before Aly could react, she felt a prick on her index finger as Mrs. Black grabbed her wrist. Blood trickled out of the small hole, and Mrs. Black caught it on the tip of her wand. She muttered something and a stream of light shot up. Names floated up and out of the wand.

Aly stood dumbstruck. Mrs. Black looked up in awe, her face glowing greedily.

"What the hell?!"

Aly turned and saw Sirius behind her.

"Sirius, give me your finger," Mrs. Black directed still looking up at the names projecting off her wand. Sirius looked surprised to be spoken to. She didn't wait for him to volunteer his hand, and grabbed him and pricked him as well.

"Aww," he tried to pull away, but she caught his blood on the tip of the wand before he could. Another beam shoot up next to Aly's. The two streams merged into one giant one.

"Oh. My. Goodness. Oh my, oh my." She turned ravenous eyes on them.

"She did this to you too?" Sirius asked Aly, holding up his finger. Aly nodded. His face darkened.

"What is that?"

"Dark magic," Sirius said without moving his lips. He grabbed Aly by the wrist and pulled her away from his mother. As they ascended the stairs, Aly saw many amazed eyes on them, heard the word "perfect" mumbled, and saw Mrs. Black beaming. She caught a glimpse of her father who was frowning deeply.

"Sirius," Aly asked him as they reached the solitude of the hallway, "What was that? What happened?"

He kept walking, anger vibrating off of his body. He entered the room where the others still were with a bang. They all jumped, and they all laid their eyes on the now angrily pacing Sirius. They turned to Aly as she followed Sirius into the room.

"Aly!" Lily jumped up and ran over to her. "You're bleeding." Aly's prick had bleed down her finger making it look like more than it was.

"I guess it's a good thing you went to find her," James told Sirius. "What happened?"

Sirius huffed at him, and held up his own bloody finger.

"Oh," Remus and James breathed.

"What?" Peter squeaked.

"She didn't!" Remus gasped.

"Bitch," James said darkly.

"What is going on?" Lily asked wrapping Aly's finger in a tissue.

"She bled you," James stated and then realized his audience. "Sorry, I forget you two aren't from pureblood families?"

Sirius made another noise, this time it was more of a disagreement.

"Well, she wasn't raised in the pureblood community," James said realizing that Sirius was commenting on the fact that Aly was, indeed, a pureblood.

Sirius made a face at him that was hard for Aly to read. James seemed to understand it though. He looked back with both eyebrows up.

"James," Aly interrupted their exchange, "Please explain."

He looked at Sirius for an okay, and, when Sirius nodded, he told them, "Most pureblood families try to keep their families as pure as possible. So, they use a practice, usually on babies, to see if a match is pure enough. It's known as 'bleeding.' It's dark magic."

"So," Aly asked, "Sirius' mom was seeing how 'pure' I was?" She looked at the boy's faces and asked, when nobody answered, "Why, exactly, is that a bad thing?"

Another angry noise came from Sirius.

"Ok," Aly snapped at him, "I'm going to need more than grunts from you."

Sirius finally stopped his pacing. He looked at her with a brazen look on his face and told her, "She wanted to see how pure our children would be. And you turned out to be just as 'pure' as I am. We'll have the most pure of purebloods. And now," he sighed heavily, "She's going to be all over us to reproduce. As if its any of her business!"

"So, you're mad I'm a pureblood?"

He let out a harsh laugh. "No, I'm mad that the maternal half of my genetics stabbed you, bled you, and displayed to all of those other purebloods fanatics."

"So?" Aly quipped.

Sirius went back to pacing. They all watched him go back and forth across the old burgundy carpet. The same house elf that came to retrieve Aly earlier returned. "Master James, your father requests you." James nodded and started out the room. Lily was close behind.

"Ok," Aly said once they had left. "Can we just forget this ever happened? Or at least, put it on the back burner for now."

Sirius seemed to struggle with this.

"James you needs you right now more than you need to freak out," Aly pointed out.

"You're right," Sirius said, stopping.

As he left the room, Aly exchanged a glance with Remus. They both seemed to know that this was bound to be something that led to nothing good.


	54. Death, Coupling, and Following

The weather hadn't yet broken when the terrible new found it's way to the Gryffindor common room. James was sent to the headmaster's office during Defense Against the Dark Arts for causing a book to fly around the room, stealing papers off other people's desks. He didn't reappear at lunch or at dinner.

"Your dad must've done a number on him," Sirius told Aly as they ate. "Seems like such a lame prank to be punished for."

They had all settled in for the evening when Professor McGonagall entered the common room.

"Mr. Black," she announced as she entered, her lips pursed tightly.

"I didn't do it," Sirius announced. She cleared her throat. "Sorry, Professor," Sirius told her, "Reflex."

"Mr. Lupin, Mr. Pettigrew, I need to speak to you as well." She looked around, and, after realizing that Lily and Aly were the only other two within earshot, she turned to the boys and said, "Mr. Potter, James, went to hospital this afternoon."

"What?"

"Why?"

"He is fine, but his father was admitted last night."

"Is he ok?" Sirius asked quickly.

McGonagall's lips turned white as she said simply, "No."

There was a loud intake of air.

She continued slowly. "He apparently caught pneumonia from Mrs. Potter and has been battling for it for a few weeks. And," she paused. All of them held their breath, praying what they knew was coming wasn't going to be what was actually coming, "He passed about an hour ago."

Aly's insides froze as McGonagall said this. The boys all looked like they were about to hurl. "Where is James now?" Sirius asked in a hushed voice.

"He's at the Ministry. James is the sole Potter now. He has to be the one to take care of the arrangements. The headmaster is assisting him." She studied the boys for a few moments then said, "I'm sorry to have to be the bearer of such devastating news."

She left without much notice from any of them. They all looked at each other, none truly able to believe the news they had just heard. They all sat silently, none really knowing what to say. Aly's mind was completely blank. All she could manage to think was _James is an orphan now. He has no parents at all. _She knew these were not words to be spoken out loud.

Eventually they all went to bed. Aly looked to Sirius before they parted, knowing she should probably find something to say to him. Nothing encouraging came. She merely blinked at him. He nodded his head to show that he understood, and they parted.

XxXxX

James was gone for a week. There was no word from him except for updates from McGonagall. Dumbledore was with him the whole time which frustrated Aly. She needed to vent to someone, and she knew he was the only one who could stand to listen.

Lily threw herself into her work even more so than usual. Aly allowed this without any joking comments. Aly was also very careful around the three remaining Marauders. It was liking walking on egg shells anytime she talked to them. They all seemed to carry some of the weight of James' unseen grief on each of their shoulders.

Sirius said little to Aly throughout the week that James was gone, but she was glad he would come and sit with her and hold her every so often.

According to McGonagall, James insisted that the burial be private. This meant that none of them were invited. When Sirius protested, Mcgonagall informed him, with a great deal of patience, that James, and only James, would be attending the burial.

"This was his decision, Mr. Black, and we must respect it."

James returned on a Sunday night. He looked tired and so much older than when he left. When he entered the common room, it seemed as if the air stood still. Each and every one of them was waiting for him to speak to gage what was the appropriate tone to take.

James looked at all of them before leaning into Sirius and saying a loud whisper, "Pad, look what I swiped from the ministry." He handed Sirius a brown leather satchel.

"Whoa, wartcap powder," Sirius said in awe.

"Wanna do some damage?" James said and raised his eyebrows.

"Always," Sirius said with a wicked smile.

The boys entered into a huddle, Remus more hesitant that the others, and the quick whispering following.

Aly knew James needed to deal with this. She also knew that boys were very different than girls and that crying to his friends was probably not the way he would like to deal with it. So she let him plan exaggerated ploys against other students. She had gone to her father to request that he advise the teachers to turn the other cheek when they caught the Marauders in action. She even allowed herself to be a victim of James torments. Sirius was sure to not be present for these pranks, but Aly was sure he took part in planning them.

One morning, however, her patience was tried. She woke up to a loud thud. Mary let out a very loud groan of pain. Aly rolled over and realized that her bed was on the ceiling. In fact, all of the girls furniture was attached to the ceiling of their dormitory. She spent a few moments trying to get her barrings and managed to drop to her feet below. She was furious however. She had had enough of James. The day before he had caused all of the girls clothes to switch with each other in all 4 of the different houses. It had been a day of chaos as the Great Hall was filled with piles of clothes and sorted through.

Aly stormed down the stairs in one of Sirius's tshirts and a pair of pajama shorts. James was waiting at the bottom of the steps smirking. "Did it work?" he asked eagerly.

Aly's eyes narrowed.

"It did! Yes!" He pumped his fist. "First big one on my own."

"You think this is funny?" Aly snapped and shoved him. He fell back against the back of the couch, but smirked. "Look, I've been nice about this, but you have got to stop being a child and deal with this."

"Deal with this?" James said quietly. "Deal with this?" His tone rose. "How can you possibly tell me to deal with this? To take on the weight of my entire family being gone? To realize that I am all alone, with no one to call me own? No," he stated. "No, no, no, no, no, NO!" His voice rose an octave with each no. "I can't do that. I just want to go back to Christmas when everything was the way it was suppose to be. I want to just be a normal kid." He crossed his arms and just stared at her.

Aly looked back. She wasn't sure what to say to this. So she stood and looked at him. After a few moments like this, his eyes went wide, and he leaned towards her. "Well?"

"Well, what?" Aly asked feeling lost.

He rolled his eyes and said, "Sirius and Lily are always saying what great advise you give. Don't you have any wisdom to impart upon to me?"

She pursed her lips and thought for a moment. Good advise? Hardly. And even if, what could she possibly say to him about this? "Well, all I can say is make them proud. Be the son they'd want you to be. Just because they aren't here doesn't mean that they aren't always with you. How's that?"

He thought it over and then nodded, "Very nice. 'Make them proud.' I can do that." Over head there was another loud thud. A shrill yell followed, "Potter!"

"Uh oh," James smiled, "Gotta go," He sprinted from the common room, but not before Lily caught sight of him as she ran down the stairs.

"You are dead, Potter!" she yelled.

"Not yet, Evans!" he was heard yelling as he ran out the portrait hole.

XxXxX

Aly wasn't expecting it when it finally happen. It had been a normal day. It was blandly sunny outside, still cold, but it had loosened its hold the castle. It was a Tuesday. Looking back on it, Aly would never remember how important it had been to her that morning that Sirius would not wear his toboggan to class. That seemed insignificant to her now. Or how she had been jealous of the fact that he had been paired up with a pretty Hufflepuff during charms. That made no difference to her.

She had felt things that she never imagined existed in this world. She never thought she'd have to grab onto her surroundings to keep from losing herself. Her eyes had rolled back into her head. Her lost control of her limps which had shaken beyond her control. A spell fell over her, and she lost all the air in her lungs. She had lost herself in the overwhelming emotion so much that she started to cry.

Sirius's breathing was ragged as his eyes went wide in concern. "What's wrong? He pushed his hair, which was plastered to his forehead with sweat, out of his eyes.

"I'm fine," Aly choked out as she looked up at him. He took a few quick gulps and rolled over. Aly felt his arm slide under her neck and him pull her close.

He rocked her slightly and slowly, making "shh" noises, and kissing her forehead. "I'm so sorry," she heard he keep whispering over and over again.

Once her heart had slowed down, and her breathing had returned to normal, Aly placed a small amount of space between them and luxuriously ran her finger across his jawbone. Again, she heard him whisper, "I'm so sorry."

"For what?"

"Hurting you. Making you cry." He pushed some of her hair off of her bare shoulder. It was sweaty too so the hair clung to it.

"You didn't hurt me," she replied in alarm, pushing herself up into a sitting position. It was very dark behind the canopies of his bed. His wand was sitting, lit, on the headboard. It cast angular shadows around them. She blushed as she realized that she was entirely exposed. She tried to yank the sheet up to cover herself, but it was wrapped around Sirius. His hand disappeared over the side of the bed and reappeared with his school shirt in it. He handed it to her, never taking his eyes off of her face, worry still etched into it.

Aly quickly did the buttons and looked back at him. "Really. It didn't hurt," she insisted. It was only partially true. It had hurt, in the beginning. She had never really understood the whole linguistics of the process. It wasn't that she didn't know how it all worked. She just never really thought about it. So it had taken her breath away when he had originally hit her resistance. However, that pain was quickly forgotten.

"You cried. I never meant, you should have said something before," he mumbled.

"I cried once it was over," Aly pointed out. "And it was out of emotion, not pain." She pulled her legs, which she had curled up under her shirt when she had put it on, out and scooted over to him. "It's a good thing."

He looked skeptical.

"Question: if it hurt and made me cry, would I want to do it again?"

His eyebrows raised and a smirk spread across his face. "Prove it," he challenged.

With one sweeping scope, the shirt she was wearing was up and off. They had been trying to be quiet, for the sake of his roommates, but, as he pulled her to him be the ankles, a giggle escaped her lips.

XxXxX

Aly woke feeling a little sore. Sirius had been less gentle with her the second time. Admittedly, she had enjoyed it more, but she was still feeling the aftermath. She rolled from her side onto her back. Sirius was snoring softly next to her. She didn't want to disturb his sleep. However, she couldn't help but lift the sheet. She had never before seen that which makes a male a male, and she hadn't had the opportunity to fully examine it the night before. As she looked at it, she heard a groggy voice say, "It's not polite to stare."

In horror, Aly dropped the sheet. Sirius, who's eyes were still half closed with sleep, stretched. He then ran a finger over the skin that he could see through the shirt she had pulled back on before she slept. "Your whole body blushes," he commented.

She laid back down next to him, placing her head on his chest to hear his heartbeat. They laid there for a while. Aly could've stayed like that forever, but, eventually, Sirius announced, "Gotta pee." He found his boxers and slide between the curtain with ease, as to not expose Aly.

Aly immediately heard Remus's voice. "Sirius! You're here?"

"Yeah," she heard him reply. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"Well," Remus hesitated. Aly could picture the look on Sirius' face in her mind. She was sure he had that look that forced whomever he was talking to to continue. Sure enough, Remus did. "I just know that you had Aly with you last night. And, well, you never stay. I mean, you're a runner."

"I'm just going to the bathroom," Sirius replied stiffly.

Aly heard the door open and close. She laid there, on her boyfriend's bed, and thought over the short conversation she had just heard. What did Remus mean by "runner?" She could've guessed but Sirius had returned, and she chose to just ask him.

"What did Remus mean when he called you a 'runner?'"

Sirius, who had pulled the curtains shut harsher than necessary, laid down and closed his eyes.

"Sirius, tell me," Aly pushed. He ignored her still so she poked him between two ribs. He flinched and sat up with his back to her.

He took a deep breath and proceeded to tell the comforter, "A runner is a guy who sleeps with a girl, but doesn't stay in the bed with her afterwards."

Aly had nothing to say to this so he continued, "I'm normally not here in the morning...after."

"You're here now," Aly pointed out to which he shrugged. "So," Aly ventured, "You've never stayed after?"

"Sometimes, but never for the whole night," he said dully still not facing her. His shoulders were sagging.

"But you're here now," Aly stated again, this time to herself. She was having trouble wrapping her mind around this fact. He was a runner. He, literally, loved 'em and left 'em. But there he sat. She asked, cautiously, "Did you want to leave?"

"At one point, I almost did," he mumbled. He looked over his shoulder at her suddenly fallen face. "It wasn't because of you. I was scared. There's an element of intimacy that comes with waking up next to someone, and I wasn't sure I was ready for it." He turned and his face softened, "But then I saw you sleeping. Your eyelashes look so dark, and you make this cute noise with your lips. And I just, I wanted to wake up here, next to you."

Aly smiled at him, and moved to kiss him, but stopped. "What?" he asked. He looked as if he was worried he had offended her.

Aly placed her hand over her mouth. "Morning breath," she explained.

He laughed aloud, which prompted a pillow flying through the air from James' bed at them. He then wrapped his arms around her and smothered her in kisses.

XxXxX

Envy ran wild throughout the school, at least throughout the female half of the population. After hearing that Sirius stayed throughout the night with Aly, every girl that had been with him had talked and realized that this was the first time this had happened with any of them.

Aly's embarrassment was impossible to hide. The entire school knew that she had slept with Sirius (of course, most people already thought that this had already happened). A blush crept upon her face almost as soon as the previous one had vanished. It seemed like everyone was talking about her and Sirius. Even if people weren't, Aly still felt like a million eyes were on her. What made it worse was she knew her father knew, and he made it no secret that he knew. He scheduled Hogwarts first (and only) ever sex education class for all 5th years and up.

Aly sat mortified as glaring eyes narrowed in on her during the day-long Saturday class. The boys and girls were separated onto different sides of the Great Hall. Lily sat next to Aly and looked just as embarrassed. Aly meant to ask her why, but, to Aly's utter horror, McGonagall was the one who started the class.

It was the worst 8 hours of Aly's life. She hide behind her hands, and watched in complete horror as McGonagall demonstrated the proper way to use a muggle safe sex device that Aly swore she'd never touch as long as she lived. Aly heard mumbling about something called the "seven spells" break out as McGonagall began passing out the small, square packages that the greasy balloon things came in. Aly had no idea what the "seven spells" were, and asked Lily, who proceeded to ask Mary.

Mary giggled and stated with an air of authority, "The seven spells is a process of spells and charms used to prevent getting pregnant. I would think you'd know this already," she stated as she stared at Aly.

Aly's persistent blush returned with a vengeance.

She asked Sirius about it after the class. He had been standing in the front hall with the other Marauders complaining about how lame the class had been.

"Can I talk to you?" Aly asked him.

"Sure," he said. Lily made a move to take Sirius' place in the group, but when James' hand reached up and ruffled his hair, a rare glimpse at the old James that Aly would have been happy to see if she hadn't been so preoccupied, Lily let out a noise of disgust and proceeded up the stairs.

"Evans! Come'on!" James yelled after her. He looked surprised by his remark.

"Question," Aly told Sirius once they were safely out of the earshot of the others.

"Answer," Sirius responded.

"Did you, use, uh, the seven spells when we, uh, you know…"

Sirius smiled at her as she stuttered through her question. "Of course," he responded.

"Oh, ok. Good." Aly felt relieved. She also felt incredibly stupid. Why hadn't she thought about this before they had done...it.

"Als," Sirius said lifting her chin with his index finger, "I'll always take care of you, you know that."

XxXxX

Aly did not let the sex ed class discourage her and Sirius' relationship. Still, in the beginning, she felt shy and reserved around him. She did not like being **that** vulnerable around anyone. However, the more they were together the more she opened up and began to feel comfortable with him. She couldn't help feeling like he was holding back on her as well. One night, during a rather heated argument, she found out just how much he **had** been holding back. He had let his walls down, and Aly's entire body turned bright red as she laid sprawled across his bed, both breathing heavy.

Sirius looked at her and laughed. "You look like a beet!"

Aly swatted at him.

"Why so red?" he asked propping himself up on his elbow so he could get a better look at her.

She pulled the sheet around herself, trying to restore as much of her dignity as she could, and whispered, "How loud was I?"

His bark of a laugh followed.

"I'm serious," she groaned pulling his pillow over her face.

"No," he commented, "I'm Sirius. You're merely embarrassed."

Aly let out another groan of anguish. "That loud?"

He chuckled as she felt him run his finger down her ribcage. As a result, her heart skipped a beat. "I found it quite nice," he commented lazily. Her body which had subsided to a pink, burned red again. "I've never made a girl make _those_ kinds of noises," he said thoughtfully. "Or quite so loud."

Aly groaned yet again. "I can never show my face again."

He pulled the pillow off her face. "Als," he stated very seriously, "It's not that big of a deal. It's happened to all of us here at least once or twice. In fact, I know you've heard others as well." That was true, she thought. She had heard certain noises, some stranger than others, but she never thought she'd be one of those girls.

"Come on. It was great. Don't rain on the parade." He was smiling quite proudly and he laid back down on the bed and gazed at the ceiling.

"For you," Aly mumbled thinking about the noises she had emitted.

"What?" he sat up quickly. His hair fell into his face. "But you said..."

Aly, realizing how he took what she had said, sat up as well, "Not like that. I just meant...the noise." She couldn't bring herself to say anything more, blushing again. His smile returned. "I want to die now," she mumbled.

He let out one harsh laugh. "Really?"

Aly's eyes sparkled mischievously. "No."

"Good," he said laying back down and pulling her back down on top of him. She laughed letting the sheet fall off of her.

XxXxX

After that day (Sirius had received a standing ovation from the other Marauders when they arrived downstairs. Aly turned a rather nice shade of burgundy), their "coupling," as Aly called it, was more frequent. Aly had come to see why girls would be willing to be labeled "sluts" if they could feel half of what Sirius managed to do to her. She still felt very naive about many of the going ons that happened between Sirius's sheets. And that was another thing: he always made it a point to be in a bed when it happened. Aly figured it was due to his usual exhaustion and sleep that followed the. . . well, coupling. Lily insisted that it was because Aly was more than a hook up in a closet to him and he wanted to make that very clear. "It's so sweet," Lily assured her. "Amos did it wherever he felt like it. Sirius respects you." Aly did have to agree with her on that. However, she rolled her eyes as Lily added, "Who would've thought? Sirius Black a decent human being." Lily followed this with a playful laugh.

Regardless of how close they were, Aly always felt weird about asked Lily questions about all of this, but she had no choice since she had literally been raised without any knowledge of it. Lily patiently answered all of her questions the best she could (she had had an additional sex education class at her muggle school before arriving at Hogwarts), and, when she didn't know the answer, she would ask Mary or Melanie about it. Aly would have asked them herself, but 1) she knew she would turn beet red and mumble through the question and 2) the girls were under the pretense that she was now the most experienced girl in the school and she didn't want anyone thinking she was unworthy of Sirius's skills. The two girls proved to be quite helpful. Thanks to them, she managed to make Sirius freeze, jaw dropped, eyes going back into his head, before he collapsed. She felt, finally, equal to him in this situation.

However, as much as she enjoyed the new connection she felt with Sirius, she felt as if their "bonding" so to speak was interfering with the rest of her life. Lily had engrossed herself in N.E.W.T. prep already that when Aly wasn't talking about Sirius with Lily, Aly felt as if she never saw her. She made this argument with Lily one day, and Lily sniffed and replied, "Not my fault." Aly, in return, playfully nudge Lily with her elbow. Lily cracked a smile, "Not that I blame you. I hear he's rather talented." Aly stared at her for a second and then busted out laughing.

"Come on, Lils," she begged once she regained her composure. "Come have lunch at Hagrid's with me. The books, and boys, will be here when we get back."

Having convinced Lily to finally agree, they set off together on the clear day. As they reached the edge of the woods, Snape appeared. Lily froze, but Aly edged her on. "Kepp walking. I'll get rid of him." She strode quickly over to him. "She doesn't want you here," Aly snapped.

"Good to see you got out from under your boyfriend long enough to spend some time with her," he snarled lazily in return. Aly ignored this, not even cracking a blush, and restated, "She doesn't want you here." Aly turned to leave, but she heard him state, "Her dad's not doing well. She needs you around more." She didn't turn back to acknowledge his comment.

As they entered Hagrid's hut, Hagrid beaming with excitement at the sight of them, Aly asked, "Lily, how's your dad?"

Lily's face darkened. "What do you mean?"

"I mean you haven't mentioned him much since your mom died."

Lily kept her features hard and took a seat. Hagrid, having noticed Lily's change at Aly's question, sent her a look of inquiry. Aly shrugged. "It's good to see you two," Hagrid boomed as a way to attempt to cover the rough patch in the conversation. "Been too long. Far too long." He then busied himself with making tea. Aly watched Lily who took to stabbing Hagrid's wooden table with one of the forks that had been placed on it for lunch.

"He's paying too much attention," Lily mumbled after she stabbed the table with particular venom.

"Who?" Aly asked watching the fork's handle vibrate as it's prongs stuck in the wood.

"He keeps trying to act like we're friends still...like he never called me..."

Aly knew this was clearly about Snape and his snooping. Aly had seen him hanging around the portrait hole and the library more than in the past. "I'm sorry, Lils," Aly supplied, not having anything else to say.

Hagrid dropped their tankards onto the table and filled them up. Aly and Hagrid talked lightly about the weather, Fang, and the ever present news of the Death Eaters. Lily remained quiet the entire time. Hagrid motioned Aly back as they left. "She ok?"

Aly look at him and replied, "She will be."

XxXxX

"There you are," Sirius said jumping up as she entered the common room. She had deposited Lily at the library, hoping the books would comfort her. Aly moved past him and leaned over the table to look at James. "I have a job for you involving your two favorite things." She smiled wickedly. She knew her plan was ingenious. He couldn't say no. But still, he looked at her skeptically. "Why would I do something for you?"

"Because it involves being near Lily and torturing Snape."

His eyebrows rose in interest. "I'm listening..."

XxXxX

Aly had no real intentions of allowing James to torture Snape. However, she knew that this would definitely get her the response she wanted. James took to following Lily very closely. Aly had told Lily that her dad had request James follow her, which in turn meant he followed Lily. Lily was severely peeved by this, but, since Aly seemed to have no problem with her dad making this decision (which was rare to Lily thinking it was real), Lily silently sulked.

"Why is your dad having James follow you?" Lily screeched. James had been particularly close and nosy today. Aly thought Lily was going to punch him the face at one point.

"Cause Death Eaters are trying to kill me," Aly explained calmly as she practiced the new charm they had learned, sending birds flying around the room. "And we're pretty sure there are some in the castle."

Lily looked frightened but this news, but still managed some venom as she asked, "Well why does it have to be Potter? Why can't Sirius do it?"

Aly put down her wand, and asked Lily, with a little fake exasperation, "Do you honestly think my dad's gonna give Sirius any excuse to be near me as much as possible?"

Lily cracked a smiled. "I guess I get that."

"You could just hide out up here all the time. Or stay away from me," Aly suggested slyly. She knew Lily's answer to this would a resounding "no." Before telling Lily about her "dad's" decision to have her trailed, Aly made a huge heartfelt speech about how it was almost their last year together and they didn't know what would happen after the graduate and how she might be killed sooner or later. Aly managed to fake some tears as well. And it worked like a charm. Lily seemed to agree with everything Aly had said and wanted to be with her as much as possible. So, James was always near Aly, and Aly was always near Lily.

As a result, private time with Sirius became limited. Aly tried to explained to a perturbed Sirius why this plan was important, but he wouldn't hear any of it. He merely shook his head and walked away. He seemed most upset by the fact that James was the one always around. Sirius always looked at them rather darkly whenever he found them alone. Aly wasn't all that pleased about those times either, but, if spending time alone with James was a help to Lily, it was a sacrifice she was willing to make.

James was, as first, a little disappointed in the lack of Snape bothering. Snape seemed to catch onto the plan very quickly. He started to get really sly about how he tried to corner Lily. James and Aly were always right there though. There were even times when it seemed that Lily was starting to warm up to James. Occasionally, Aly would see her laugh at his goofy behavior despite herself. When Aly mentioned, of course, Lily denied it. "He's stupid, and he's Potter. That's all I need to say."


	55. Kissing and Taken

The school year was coming to an end. Summer erupted on them quickly. There was hardly a spring which was all right with Aly. She spent most mornings before class in the lake. She almost always showed up for class with wet hair. Lily seemed to be warming up to James and even allowed herself to crack a smile at some of his jokes.

Gryffindor had lost the Qudditch cup to Ravenclaw. James took it very hard and stayed in bed for 3 days. Aly enjoyed the break from his followings, but Snape did manage to find Lily alone. The meeting between the two was quick and painful, for Lily emotional and for Snape's left cheek.

The last week of class brought to her drama she never expected. One day, she found James alone in the common room, something Aly notice more and more since his parent's had died, staring off into space, twirling a quill between his fingers, forehead crinkled in deep thought.

She normally left him with his thoughts, but she had wanted to talk to him about the following plan. She had decided that during exams she wanted him to stop because she was going to be stressed and more likely to snap at him and start a fight. She would never tell him, but the main reason for the cease and desist was because she knew she'd be swamped with studying and was starting to miss Sirius and didn't need James around the few moments they managed to get together.

She stood next to his chair and watched as his eyes shifted to view her out of the corner of them and then go back towards the fireplace where they had originally been. She rolled her eyes as he ignored her for a while longer. "James," she said exasperated, "I'm kinda in a hurry."

He made a face and moved the opposite direction to avoid her eyes. Aly rolled her eyes again and sighed. She moved around, and he, likewise, moved out of her eyesight. "James," she exclaimed and grabbed him by the shoulder and yanked. He turned and she realized that he had started crying. "Oh, James..."

"Don't," he snuffed and quickly wiped his face. "You just," he hesitated and then said quickly, "You just smelt like my mom, that's all." He stood and hugged her tightly burying his face into her shoulder. Aly awkwardly tried to pat him on the back. She wasn't sure if it was a compliment that she had smelt like an old lady, even if that old lady was Mrs. Potter. The portrait hole opened and in came Sirius. How did Aly know it was Sirius? A booming, "That's it," came from him as he entered.

James and Aly jumped apart quickly. James quickly wiped his face with his hand. "What's up, Pad?" James said trying to sound collected.

Sirius' made his way towards them and stood on the other side of the table. His eyes were bugged out, and he was shaking slightly. Aly thought he looked like he had lost his mind.

"Don't you 'Pad' me, Potter," Sirius snapped.

James physically flinched at the comment. "What's wrong?" James asked trying to hide the pain Sirius' use of his surname caused and failing.

"I knew…I tried to tell myself that it was nothing. That this was all an act. But I knew, deep down, I knew that I was right." He had started pacing, wringing his hands as he went back and forth.

"Knew what?" James almost cried.

"You," Sirius pointed at James, "And you" he pointed at Aly, and then he smashed the tips of his two index fingers together a few times, "Together."

"What are you talking about?" Aly snapped, her shoulder still damp from James' tears. She was worried about his sanity. She had seen him jealous before but never like this. And what did he have to be so deranged about? Nothing would ever go on between James and her. Surely, he had to know that.

Sirius turned towards her, and his face softened slightly and his eyes retreated slightly back into his head. "I know what I've seen: the moments alone, the stolen glances, the dark corners-"

"What dark corners?" Aly snapped. She was sure now that he had, in fact, lost his mind.

"I've seen it. With my eyes," Sirius nearly poked himself in the eye while pointing furiously at one of them to provide his emphasis. "Do you deny it?"

"Yes," Aly and James said simultaneously.

"Exactly what you would say if you were cheating on me," Sirius said, his eyes coming back out of his head again.

Aly huffed in frustration, put her hands on her hips, and asked him, "What do you want us to say? That we've secretly been together behind your back for months?"

"Aha!" Sirius shouted throwing one finger into the air and scaring a group of nearby first years. "You admit it then."

Aly rolled her eyes. She was stressed from Lily's incessant need for them study, and she was on the very edge of her last nerve, "Fine. You know what fine." She grabbed James by both sides of his face and planted a big kiss on him. James froze. When she pulled away she saw that both boys' faces had lost their color. "See!" Aly exclaimed. Clearly, the kiss proved that there was nothing going on. James looked startled and uncomfortable, and Aly's face didn't hide her disgust for what she had just done.

Sirius said nothing. Aly checked her watch and sighed angrily. She didn't have time for this. "I have to go see my dad. Try and get your mind back before I get back." She sent his an angry glance and then turned on her heel and stormed out of the room.

The door slammed behind her and the chair squeaked loudly as she threw herself into it once she arrived at her father's office. Her father laid down his quill, looking quite stunned by her entrance. "Is everything ok?" he asked cautiously.

Aly let out a breathy "Ha!" but said nothing else.

Her father waited for a few moments for her to speak before finally deciding to pick up his quill and continue his work knowing she'd talk about it when she was ready. The room was silent for a long while except for the scratching of the quill and an occasional snore or cough from one of the portraits in the room. Aly had her arms crossed over her chest and her leg crossed over her knee, foot jiggling furiously. Her mind tried to focus on anything but the boy with the bulging eyes.

When she finally spoke, she startled her father. She slammed the foot that had been jiggling onto the ground, and stated, "I hate death."

He put his quill down and thought before he spoke. "I'm not fond of it myself."

She turned her eyesight towards Fawkes. Dumbledore followed her line of sight, and breathed an, "Ah" before telling her, "Fawkes _is_ the one exception to the rule."

"Still," Aly shrugged. She remembered the first time Fawkes had died. She had cried and cried. When her father showed her the new tiny baby bird, Aly declared that it wasn't her Fawkes, collected the ashes, and buried them in Hagrid's garden. She had learned to accept the new Fawkes over the years. His lifespan between deaths seemed to vary and seemed to reflect the environment around him. He had died when Aly was banished from the school, when she ran away the summer of 2nd year, and when she started dating Sirius. She huffed at the thought of him and turned to stare out the window.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Dumbledore asked again.

Aly shook her head quickly.

"Did you have a fight with Mr. Black?" he ventured.

Aly's lips pursed together, but she remained silent.

Dumbledore stood up from his desk, and Aly blurted out, "He thinks I'm hooking up with James."

He nodded to himself and sat back down. "This wouldn't have anything to do with your plan for Mrs. Evans?"

Aly's forehead furrowed in confusion. How did he know?

"I'm not as dense as you think I am," he chuckled to himself.

Aly sighed, "It's ridiculous."

"So, he confronted you?" he asked.

Aly nodded.

"And what happened?"

"I kissed James."

He looked shocked by her answer. "And that seemed like a good idea why?"

"It was to prove a point!" Aly declared. "Anyone who saw us kiss would know that there is no chemistry between us. That nothing was or ever would happen!"

"Except to the jealous eye, all that would be seen is the kiss," he pointed out.

Aly ignored this comment and exclaimed "James and I hate each other on most days!"

"Well," he said pressing his fingers together, "There are two ways to look at this. One could be that since Sirius holds James in such high regard. Maybe he is worried you've finally seen all the good qualities he has always seen."

Aly made a noise of disagreement.

"Or perhaps because you two do have such a turbulent relationship he is worried that opposites have attracted in this case," Dumbledore supplied and upon seeing the look upon his daughter face, added, "I'm sure you've seen examples around the castle."

He was right. There was one particular couple, Ravenclaws, who were seen screaming at each other one moment and snogging the next. She felt even more frustrated with the situation with these points being made that she felt that she needed to get to the original reason for the meeting.

"I have come here to talk to you about this summer," she stated, turning to face him again.

He didn't seem surprised that she changed the subject so abruptly. He nodded. "It is fast approaching."

"I know," Aly told him. "I'm 17 now and would like to be able to come and go as I please. I plan on spending most of the time with Lily, but I will come back and see you occasionally."

"Hmm, ok..." he seemed to be holding something back.

"What?" she snapped, her temper up and expecting the worse.

"You plan on staying with Lily..." he drawled slowly

"Yes. I want to spend as much time with Lily before we graduate." She didn't tell him that if she didn't go Snape would hover as much as possible. She planned to act as a shield.

Her head began to fell like it was swelling. "Dad!" Aly exclaimed in frustration, "Stop trying to read my mind, and just tell me what you're thinking!" Aly had learned from an early age that her dad possessed the power to enter her mind, and she had worked hard for a long time to try and keep him out. She just didn't have the energy to do it today, and she didn't know exactly what he'd find snooping around in there.

"Is 'going to Lily's' code for anything?" he asked very cautiously.

"No," Aly stated bluntly, surprised, and then asked out of curiosity, "Code for what?"

"Well, not to bring up an unhappy subject, but I thought it might be code to spending the summer at Potter Manor where James and his army of house-elves will be joined by Mr. Black this year," he told her studying her face.

"No," Aly told him, surprised that she didn't already know this information. "I'm just going to Lily's. I didn't even know that he was going to James' house."

He nodded in agreement. "I suppose that sounds like a good plan then."

Upon his agreement to her plan, Aly turned to look out the window again, not really seeing the Quidditch pitch in the distance.

He let her sit for a while, stewing in her own thoughts. Finally, he spoke, "Perhaps you should go find Mr. Black and make sure he hasn't destroyed my school yet in a fit of jealous rage."

Aly nodded and stood. At the door, she heard him say, "I'll see you around." He couldn't hide the ache in his voice.

"I'll come say goodbye before I leave for the summer," she told him with a small smile.

She saw a sparkle in his eye as she closed the door.

XxXxX

"Sirius!" Aly called after him.

He turned to look at her. "Hey," she had started running down the hall after him when she caught sight of him on his way towards potions class. She hadn't been able to find him the night before but had managed for find James. James told her he tried to talk to Sirius after she had left, but that he hadn't listened to him. Aly told him the following had to stop. James agreed. When she finally caught up with Sirius in the hall, she was slightly out of breath.

"Hey," she repeated, grabbing a hold of her side which was spasming from the run. "I really want to talk to you."

He didn't say anything, and his face hid any thing he may have been feeling. Aly decided to dive right in to what she had to say in case he decided to leave.

"Look, with me and James, nothing has been going on. At all. It all has to do with Snape bothering Lily, and I wanted to keep him away and I knew James would help because, well, because it's Lily. So I had him really follow her but I couldn't let Lily know so I came up the story about my dad. And that kiss yesterday-Sirius, it was to prove that nothing was going and that there was no chemistry there at all. But I wasn't thinking about what it would really look like to you. So I'm sorry about that. You know how I get when I'm upset..."

Aly took in deep breath. Sirius' face remained unchanged. He just stood there looking at her.

"Well," Aly said awkwardly, "Aren't you going to say anything?"

He sighed and pursed his lips together before saying in a very flat tone, "I'm late for potions," and he turned around left.

XxXxX

"Hey." Lily said entering their room. "You missed potions."

"Yeah," Aly said simply, not looking up from her book.

"How come?" Lily asked sitting down of the side of her bed that faced Aly.

"Just didn't feel like going. Figured charms studying warranted more of my time."

Lily's face showed surprise, and, then, she looked quite pleased. She was clearly happy that Aly seemed to think that exams were important for the first time in 6 years. Lily stood to leave Aly to her studying, so Aly quickly added, "Plus, I think Sirius is going to break up with me."

Lily stopped dead. "What? Why?"

"Cause we had a stupid fight, and I ended up kissing James." Aly still hadn't looked up at her friend, but she raised curious eyes as Lily barked, "What?" Aly could've sworn she heard a hint of jealousy.

"I did it to prove a point," Aly stated.

"Couldn't you have kissed someone else?"

"No," Aly said agitated.

"But Potter? Really? He's so…and…" Lily shook her head as she tried to think of the words to describe him.

A smile spread across Aly's face, "Aww, you like Potter!"

Lily's face flushed red, and she snapped, "No, I certainly do not. I just think you shouldn't go around kissing other people when you have a boyfriend."

Aly's good humor left. "It. Was. To. Prove. A. Point." She slammed her book down in frustration. Why didn't anyone understand that?

Aly stormed past Lily in anger, and down the stairs, nearly tripping as she made her way into the common room. She continued out into the hall, brushing roughly past some 2nd years, and ran into someone. They collided and both fell. Aly's head hit the portrait hole that was swinging shut behind her.

She heard the Fat Lady say, "Oh, sorry, dear," but she sounded far away. "Why is it always the head?" Aly mumbled to herself, grabbing the back of her head. A hand appeared in front of her face. She took it without thinking, and let the person pull her up. "Sorry," she stated. "I didn't see you there."

"It's alright. I wasn't looking either." The voice belonged to Snape. He didn't sound bitter like he usually did when Aly talked to him. He almost sounded concerned. "Are you alright?"

"Fine," Aly said, trying to soothe the slight throb on the back of her head. "You hanging around for Lily again?"

He looked away, but, in doing so, confirmed that that was exactly what he had been doing.

"She doesn't want to talk to you," Aly pointed out to the boy yet again.

"I know," he said heaving a sigh. "I just miss her."

Aly nodded. She understood how it felt to miss someone you cared about, and Snape clearly cared about Lily. Why else would he be this determined to talk to her?

"I can't let you see her," Aly told her.

He nodded and told her, "Even though it pisses me off, you're a good friend to her. I'm glad she has you."

Aly was taken about by this, and Lily appeared out of the portrait hole.

"What's going on?" Lily asked Aly, not looking at Snape.

"Nothing," Aly said quickly, but kept her eyes on Snape.

"Lily, I need to talk to you," he said quickly.

"No," Lily said harshly. "I don't want to talk to you, Severus."

Aly's heartbroke just a little for the boy as his face twisted into the agony she knew he must be feeling.

"What wrong with you?" Lily asked looking at Aly who still had her hand on her head.

"I'm fine," Aly said finally removing her eyes from Snape's face. "I just hit my head."

"Are you alright?" Lily's maternal sense took over.

"I'm fine," Aly stated again, this time with a slight bite. Why didn't anyone ever believe her?

"But it's bleeding," Lily stated.

Aly examined her hand. There was a small amount of blood. No more than if she had skinned her knee. It was nothing she would have worried about. Lily, on the other hand, felt it necessary for her to go see the nurse.

"Come on," Lily grabbed Aly's elbow and pulled. Aly knew that Lily was just looking for an excuse to get away from Snape.

"Lily, please." Snape took a hold of Aly's other elbow.

Each side of Aly was being tugged in a different direction, and she desperately wanted each of them to stop. "Enough!" Aly screeched. "Both of you let go of me."

She threw her arms up, and they both dropped their grips. "You two are old enough to deal with this without me in the middle. It's caused me enough trouble already. So, just, just leave me out of it!" She stormed off, her mood even worse than before. She agreed with Lily on the situation. Snape had no right to call her a "mublood," but she could also tell that Snape really was sorry he had said it. She thought maybe Lily had misjudged the boy. He hung out with the wrong people, but that didn't make him a bad person. He could simply have been lost in a world he didn't really understand. Aly definitely knew how that felt. She knew one thing for sure, she didn't need to be used as a tug-of-war rope between them.

She shoved open on the heavy front doors with her shoulder. She figured maybe she'd go see Hagrid or her moonstone. A figure caught her eye. It looked like someone was trying to figure out how to open the main gate. It wouldn't open for just anyone.

"Aly!" the voice called. She stopped dead in her tracks. It sounded like Remus' voice. How had he gotten outside the walls?

"Remus?" she called back and made her way down. He was wearing a robe over his head. He must've torn himself up pretty bad during his last transformation. Aly had seen what kind of damage he could inflict upon himself. "Do you need in?"

As she got closer she realized that the figure was much too tall to be Remus, but before she could turn back, it was too late.

XxXxX

Aly woke shivering. She knew immediately that something was wrong. It was almost 80 degrees outside. Then the pain hit her. Her shoulder felt dislocated, and her hip felt bruised. She blinked in the darkness. The only light was an overhead window. She struggled to stand and realized her ankles and hands were bound. Her heart began to race as she panicked. Where the hell was she?

She heard footsteps in the dark and squinted as light streamed into the room. Someone had come in from the outside. The person didn't say anything. They merely hovered over her for a few moments and then yelled out a spell Aly didn't know. Aly's body felt like it was twisting as if she was being wrung out like a wet towel. The pain finally subsided as the door snapped shut, and darkness invaded the room again.

XxXxX

Aly sat in the darkness. She didn't have enough outside light to know when the sun was up or down. She didn't know how long she had been there. It felt like months, but she knew it could simply be hours. Footsteps creaked over head constantly. She feared and waited for the door to open. Every so often it would open and a person would enter and send a spell at her. Each time it was one spell and only one spell. She originally though it was always the same person, but she began to notice a difference in height and weight of the shadow in the doorway.

She wanted to cry. She really did, but she couldn't bring herself to do it. She knew it would take too much of her dwindling strength to do it, and she knew she needed all the strength she had. She tried not to do much of anything while she sat and waited. Her mind always went places she didn't want it to go. Sirius, Lily, her dad, school, her life—all things taken from her, or, rather, she was taken from.

She leaned her head back against the cold wall. She missed the warmth. She was constantly cold. The door opened, and she went limp. She had originally tried to resist the attacks, moving around the room the best she could, but it had caused for more injuries. She had been kicked, thrown, and punched in order to get her to stay still long enough to be hit directly by the spell. So she went limp and took a deep breath.

Something was different this time though. Two hands roughly picked her up, and drug her out of the room. Her toes, which were bare, drug on the cold stones. Both her ankles felt broken. She was drug roughly up a flight of stairs and was thrown down. Her face hit the hard ground. She kept her eyes closed, scared of what would happen next.

"Good evening, Miss Dumbledore."

She knew that voice. It sounded almost like a slither as it filled the room. Voldemort had finally caught her. She was about to die.

"Oh, let's not be so rude to our guest," he said, and with a wave of his hand, two people lifted her again and placed her in a chair. She sat across a long table looking at him. She suddenly realized one of her eyes was swollen almost all the way shut.

"How are you this fine evening?" Voldemort asked.

Aly said nothing.

"Not much of a talker are we?" he seemed charming as he spoke, but Aly remained unmoved. If she was going to die, she wasn't going to do it on his terms.

"I thought we should have a chat before we take care of business," Voldemort stated.

The hairs on Aly's arms and neck stood on end.

"Do you know what day it is?" he asked and with no response, he continued, "I suppose not. It's been three days since you were brought here, which, I might add, was so much easier than even I anticipated. I think three days is a decent amount of time. Three days ago, I advised your daddy that you were here, well not here, but with me anyways. I told him you were free for the taking if he stepped down from Hogwarts. That's all I wanted. It seemed like a simple request. However, a day came and went, and not response. And then another day. And now the third day has died and now so will you."

Aly gulped and bit her lip.

"I don't usually do this," he said standing up and coming around the table. "But, I like you. I find you fascinating. We do have so very much in common. So, I shall give you a chance to say your last words first. We'll be sure to send them back to daddy."

Aly looked into the snakelike face and red eyes. She couldn't think of anything to say. The only thing that came to mind was Sirius. They had had a fight, a stupid fight, and now she'd die before they could make up. She turned to look straight ahead across the table. She suddenly realized they weren't alone. There were many cloaked people standing around them.

She licked her lips and said slowly, "All I want you tell him is…to tell…" she hesitated. She wasn't sure how much she wanted to actually say. "Tell Padfoot not to do anything stupid." She nodded to herself the best she could.

"That's it?" Voldemort asked. He seemed disappointed. "Nothing more?"

Aly remained silent.

Voldemort looked to his left, and, with a graceful flick of his wrist, said simply, "Send it off."

He turned greedy eyes back to her. "Ready?" He smiled wickedly.

Aly nodded. She didn't know what else to do. She felt the ankle locks release, and she stood the best she could.

She closed her eyes, and waited. She pictured Sirius in her mind – his brown eyes, his annoying piece of hair, his lips, his smell…

She heard it—"AVADA KE—"

"WAIT!"

Her eyes flung open. Voldemort stumbled. He turned angry eyes on the crowd. "Who wasss that?" It came out as an angry, snakelike hiss.

After a few heavy moments, a single figure stepped out.

"Identify yourself," Voldemort bellowed.

"Black, Regulus Black," the small figure stated. Aly's heart jumped into her throat. What was he doing? Why was he trying to save her?

"You dare stop the Dark Lord?" Voldemort bellowed swooping over towards him.

"Please, forgive me, my lord. I just, I just," his nerve seemed to waive, but then he finished quickly with, "I just thought there was some important information you needed to know." Regulus was clearly shaking.

"Information?" Voldemort seemed slightly intrigued through his anger. "Yes? Care to share before I kill you too?"

Regulus' shaking was so bad that Aly could see his robes swaying fiercely. "She's been bleed!" he shouted out. He lowered his voice by what seemed like force and continued. "She's been bleed with my brother, her boyfriend. Their children will be the most perfect, the most purest of the pure. The most pure generations ever known or seen in a single child."

Voldemort seemed suddenly interested. "Really?" He examined Aly. "Dumbledore actually bleed his offspring. How 'magical' of him."

"My mother did it," Regulus corrected.

"Get back in line," Voldemort barked. Regulus sunk back into place.

Voldemort began to pace, thinking deeply, and then suddenly stopped. He turned wicked eyes and a wicked smile on Aly. "I don't think I will kill you today."

Aly felt all the blood rush to her face in relief. "I'll wait until you produce offspring and then kill you." He chuckled once. It was a dark, sinister chuckle. "Yes. Go live your life. Be happy. Even marry your boyfriend while you're at it, if you'd like. I don't care. Just as long as you two reproduce. Think of what it could mean!" His eyes glowed greedily. "To have my symbol. A beautiful symbol of all that is right in the world. Yes, go off. Live life. But know this, you will either give me my pure symbol or else you will be forced to give it to me." He turned and announced. "Dispose of her, and make sure she gets the medical attention she needs. I can't have her injured if she's supposed to be the mother of my creation."

Aly felt a spell upon her, and the room went black again.

XxXxX

A scream filled the air. Aly's eyes shot open. She couldn't tell what was going on. There was dust in the air. Then suddenly she was scooped up and was being jostled, which hurt her hip. She realized by the scratchy hair on her forehead and furry overcoat that she was in Hagrid's arms.

"Hagrid, what happened? Where am I? Who screamed?" Aly asked quickly.

She saw them pass through the gates of Hogwarts. She must've been left in Hogsmeade.

"Hagrid," Aly stressed as they made their way up the hill towards the castle. "Who screamed? Are they hurt?"

"It was just Rosemerta. She found ya." Hagrid said roughly and slightly out of breath.

Aly felt relieved that none had been hurt at her expense and fell silent, happy to be home safely.

"You there!" Hagrid bellowed once in the front hall at a portrait. "Let the Headmaster know that Alyson's back n' I'm takin' her to the hospital wing."

The witch in the portrait nodded and ran off.

Aly gripped Hagrid's beard as he took the stairs 5 at a time. She thankfully let him lay her down on a bed in the hospital wing. The nurse rushed forward. "Oh my goodness," she gasped and froze.

"Get ta work!" Hagrid yelled after a few seconds of the nurse's starring.

She began quickly examining Aly. Aly was telling her exactly what was hurting her as her father entered the room with McGonagall right on his heels.

"You're alive?" her father stated. He looked so much older than Aly remembered him looking.

"Yes," Aly stated as the nurse dabbed something on her swollen eye.

A smile came across his face. "I'm glad."

"Me too," Aly agreed.

McGonagall suddenly burst into tears. All four of the other occupants of the room looked on startled. "Sorry," she said dabbing her eyes with a handkerchief. "I just thought you were dead. We got that note, and I just thought…"

Hagrid patted the professor on the back gently as she blew her nose.

Aly smiled and felt her swell with happiness. At least someone would've missed her.

The nurse had disappeared and reappeared with a handle full of jars. "We've got lots of work to do," she told Aly. "Ready to get started?"

Aly smiled widened. She'd never been so happy to be in the hospital wing in her entire life.

XxXxX

Turned out Aly had a broken ankle and elbow, a sprained ankle, and a dislocated shoulder and hip. "All easy fixes," Pomfrey assured her. Other than that, she had only minor cuts and scraps besides her eye. She would have to wear a sling for her elbow since it was one of the hardest bones to heal due its constant use. Aly endured the popping of her joints back into place, swallowed many disgusting potions, and, finally, took a sleeping potion. She didn't really need it. She was exhausted and it would be the first time she felt safe enough to sleep in days, but she took it anyways.

She woke the next morning to her father's voice. He was arguing with the nurse about something.

"Dad? What's going on?" she called across the room lazily.

"Didn't mean to wake you," he told her as he came over to inspect her. "You're looking much better."

Aly nodded and said, "At least I can kinda see out of my eye now."

"Yes," he said with a smile, "It's certainly getting better looking."

"Just a few more applications should clear it up," Madame Pomfrey swooped in and began applying more to Aly's eyelids.

"I was about to head down to Hogsmeade and have a talk with Rosemerta," Dumbledore said thoughtfully.

"Can I come?" Aly asked. She was definitely curious to what the barmaid had seen. She looked at her father and then at the nurse. "Please."

Dumbledore looked to the nurse for confirmation.

"I don't see why not," the nurse said, and then turned to Aly, "You're going to sore for a while. I healed everything up for you, but that doesn't mean you're back to 100% yet. You took a rough beating. So take it easy."

Aly smiled, and then turned to her dad, "Can I shower first?"

He nodded. She jumped up and stumbled. "I said, 'Take it easy!'" the nurse exclaimed as she took a hold of Aly.

Aly smiled apologetically.

She needed assistance showering which Pomfrey supplied. She was dressed, and her and her father headed down the front walk towards the small village.

/ / /

"What can we do?" whispered the boy.

"There's got to be something," the other one whispered.

"I don't know if there's a way to get him out of this funk. Maybe we should just leave him alone."

"No, we can't do that. We're his friends."

"We should just leave him alone."

"I can hear you guys," another voice barked. Sirius was sitting in the corner staring out the window, not really seeing anything. His best friends were behind him discussing whether to talk to him. He didn't want to talk to them, but he also didn't want to be alone.

He had gotten word two days ago about . . . what had happened. He couldn't even bring himself to think it. He remembered sitting in the common room, waiting. Three days of waiting. It had taken a toll on him. He stopped eating. He quit going to class. He had given up any and all Marauder's activities. He had ignored the rest of the things and people in his life, but he had hope. It was a small glimmer, but it was there. She could come back. She could. It wasn't impossible. They didn't know 100% who took her. He could tell that the headmaster knew but wasn't going to share that information with him. It was probably to protect him, to protect his hope. And then, yesterday afternoon, his life crashed down around him. His hope was gone.

A letter had arrived via snake. She had thought of him in her final moments. He took comfort in that. It wasn't the type of sentiment that he had really wanted. He had expected some sort of loving words about how she was sorry and she loved him, but she expressed her concern for him and his safety. It was a sentiment that came out of love. She had worried about him until the end. It was typical Aly…he shook his head hard. He couldn't hear let alone think her name. It was just, it was just too hard. It made his heart squeeze in pain.

He had snubbed her. The last time he had and ever would see her, he had snubbed her. And over something stupid. He had been hurt and upset, but now, he knew, that she would never have cheated on him, let alone with James. She had been the most fiercely loyal person he knew. She was the one light spot in his normally bleak life. And now she was gone.

He had managed to not cry in front of anyone. Alone, yes. But in front his friends, he had managed to keep some control. "Let's go outside," James suggested enthusiastically.

"That might be a good idea," Remus said and turned to Sirius, "Fresh air might help."

"Nothing will help," Sirius said blandly.

"Well, it's still better than sitting in here," James replied and took Sirius by the arm. He drug him up without much resistance. "Come on, Pad," he said quietly. "You've gotta try and pretend to pull it together. Lily's beside herself. We can't handle both of you collapsing on us. I know you're heartbroken, dude, but just for a little bit longer. Just, just hang in there." Sirius nodded and let him lead him out the common room.

/ / /

The conversation with Rosemerta had gotten them no where. She said she had heard a knock on the backdoor, yelled to the person that they were closed for the night, which caused an even louder knock. She heard the distinct pop of someone disapparating as she opened the door and saw a body lying on the ground. She sent one of the other workers up the gate of the school to fetch anyone who could help when she realized that it was Aly, and Hagrid was the one who came running. She had no other information and hadn't seen who had delivered Aly.

"Dad," Aly said as they slowly walked through the main street of the village. Dumbledore slowed his steps to keep up Aly's smaller, slower ones.

"Yes, Alyson?" He didn't move his head but his eyes glanced over at her. She could tell he was keeping watch.

"There were students there—wherever it was that I was. There were Hogwarts students. That means they've infiltrated the castle."

He nodded to show that he heard her, but said nothing else. She hated how secretive he was sometimes.

"Are you going to do anything about it?" Aly asked.

"It's taken care of, Alyson." There was finality in her voice that told her that he wasn't going say anything more.

She sighed in defeat, and went on to ask, "Aren't you going to ask me how I'm still alive?"

His eyebrows went up, but, again, he said nothing.

"Well, if you won't ask, then I won't tell you," she stated blinking quickly, thrown off by his seeming lack of interest with her brush with death.

He smiled a very fatherly smile and asked, finally turning his head to look at her, "Please do share."

"No," she stated defiantly, "You're just being snarky about it now."

He stopped. "I really do want to know." He gestured her towards a bench.

She sat and plunged into the tale. "Well, I have no idea where I was…" She retold every detail she could recall down to when and where she broke her bones. He listened patiently. She hesitated when she reached the part where Voldemort told her he had never sent for her. She looked up at him with sad eyes, "Why?"

He smiled understandingly at her, "He never sent word, Alyson. I swear. I would've been able to track it back and locate you. He lied to you."

She nodded, feeling relieved. "Sorry, I doubted you," she said quietly.

"It's quite alright," he told her. "So, you have yet to tell me how you got out of the predicament you were in."

She heaved a huge sigh and plunged into the scariest part of the tale. She would've been lying if she had said that she hadn't pictured marrying Sirius in the future at some point. She hadn't picked a date or anything, but it was still upsetting to think that she couldn't ever have that. She had to stay away from him for his own good. If they did have a baby, she knew he died defending it. Her father read her face.

"You don't need to give up your own happiness, Aly. There are many people working very hard to stop Voldemort. By the time you are ready to have children, with whoever they may be with, he hopefully won't even be a threat. Life is too short to stop being with the people you love. Plus, I don't see Mr. Black giving you up without a fight."

Aly lowered her eyes. She remembered the fight they had before she was taken. It was hazy after everything else that had happened to her, but she remembered the look on his face as he turned to head to class.

"No matter what happened before all this is a moot point, Alyson," he explained softly. "When I got that letter, and I had to tell him, his face looked exactly the way I felt. He's not himself since he found out you died, or were supposedly dead."

"How many days has it been?" she asked picking at the chipped polish on her nails. "Since, I, you know, disappeared."

"Including the day you went missing, you've been gone 6 days to them. Dead for two. I think you need to let them know you're alive."

She nodded but looked at him and said very seriously, "You can't tell anyone about this. Understand? What happened stays between the death eaters, you, and me."

He looked surprised, "I think you should really consider letting Sirius know since this does affect him as well."

"No," Aly stated bluntly. "Between us. Promise."

He hesitated and then nodded.

"Good." She stood and turned back towards the castle. "So, tell me what I've missed here."

/ / /

James, Peter, and Remus all sat under one of their favorite trees. It gave you the best view of the school grounds. Sirius leaned back against the trunk. He starred angrily at the front gates. He should have been there with her. He should have never let her go out of the castle alone, no matter how angry or upset he was. So many "should haves."

His friends had wanted to take him to the lake, but he refused. He couldn't even look at it. Their first kiss had been there. He had given her his crest ring there. There were too many memories there.

They then suggested the gap in the trees at the forests edge. Her moonstone was only a few yards back from there so that was a no too.

They suggest Hagrid's, the greenhouses, the astronomy tower, the qudditch pitch—every single place had a memory. They ended up at the tree. They spent many sunny days at it. It had no memory of Aly except for the one—when they hung Snape upside down and Lily got called a "mudblood" by the stupid prat. He had looked over his shoulder at her lounging by the lake. She had shaken her head at him in disappointment.

The three other boys chatted trying to include Sirius in the conversation as much as possible. He didn't respond to their attempts. Eventually, they stopped trying, happy they had at least gotten him outside.

"We've got exams next week," he heard James say. "I think I'm ready."

"Really?" Remus replied. "You haven't even cracked a book."

"Don't need to. It's all up here, my friend. Ask me any question about any subject. Go ahead."

"What charm do you use to stop a spell without speaking?" Remus asked.

"Pfft. That's easy," James remarked.

"I had just taught Aly that," Sirius announced.

The boys went quiet.

"I feel like she's still here," Sirius continued in a hushed tone. "I don't know if I can stay here. I can't be near all these places and people when she's not. I look for her around every corner and wait for her to come walking down the stairs. I see her out of the corner of my eye sometimes. I swear she got into my bed last night, but when I woke I was alone. I feel like I'm going crazy. Like now, I feel like I can see her walking through the gates. I can't be here. I just can't." He dropped his head and held in his tears. His chest bounced roughly.

"Uh, Pad…" James said standing up and grabbing his shoulder. "If you're going crazy so am I."

"Me too," Peter agreed.

Sirius lifted his eyes. "Oh my god." There was no way…

/ / /

As they reached the gates to the school, her father turned to her, "Can I trust that you can safely make it to the castle from here?"

"Yes," she said with a smile.

"I'm going to examine the barriers around the school, just to be sure there are no holes. For the safety of the students, of course." He winked and walked away.

Aly smiled and made her way up the drive. The sun was shining, and she pulled her hair out of the ponytail holder she had piled it in after her shower. The curls bounced freely. She threw her head back and basked in the sunlight. Those three days in the dark were awful, and she never wanted to not be able to feel the sun on her face ever again.

She heard a voice say "Oh my god," and she lowered her head and looked. She stopped dead in her tracks. It was the Marauders.

They all looked like they were seeing a ghost, which, she reminded herself, to them, she was.

"Hey," she said with an awkward half wave.

Sirius' jaw was dropped, and his face had gone white.

He took two unsteady steps towards her and then stopped. He swayed, and asked the boys over his shoulder, "You do see her right?"

James beamed. Remus look relieved. Peter seemed scared.

Sirius turned back and took a few long steps until he was right in front of her. He reached out to touch her, but his fingers hovered right over her cheek. He closed his eyes and breathed in deep. "You smell real," he told her.

Aly's heart was beating a mile minute. He looked exhausted but still so good. He was right there in front of her. She would get to touch him again, smell him again, be held again. She closed her eyes as his hand finally found her cheek. Once his skin met hers, tears started rolling down both their cheeks.


	56. The school year ends

While the meeting with Sirius was the most emotional for Aly, it seemed a little understated compared to the greeting she received from Lily. James had run inside to fetch Lily which went unnoticed by Sirius and Aly. They were still just standing there, both crying silently, his hand on her face when a scream occurred that startled them both.

"OH MY GOD!" was all Aly heard before arms were flung around her. Lily continued talking but it was all lost on Aly as Lily's hair covered most of her face.

"Let her breathe, Lils," she heard Sirius say from behind her.

Lily relinquished her hold on Aly's shoulders, and, instead, she told hold of Aly's arms and started jumping up and down. She giggled in an almost scary way as Aly tried to keep from jumping too much on her still sore ankles. Aly turned to send Sirius a pleading glance, and he immediately stepped in.

"Lily," he gently pushed away from Aly, "She's still injured."

Lily's eyes went wide. "Oh, no. I'm so sorry."

Aly smiled amicably at her, "It's ok. Really."

Lily nodded in understanding, but still wore a look of worry. James appeared next to Lily, and said to her, "Why don't we give them a minute." Aly sent him a thankful glance, and reminded herself to remember this moment when he was being an ass again.

Lily looked at him and then agreed with a bob of her head. She didn't turn to leave though. Her eyes got really big and then she burst into tears. James looked frightened by the sudden burst of emotion. Aly held in a laugh as Lily came forward and took her gently by the shoulder. "I'm glad you're not dead."

Aly beamed, "Me too, Lils. Me too."

Lily nodded at her and then turned and led the three other boys inside, wiping her cheeks as she went.

Sirius stared in their direction as they disappeared. He then turned to Aly, looking very serious, and asked, "What on you is injured?"

Aly rolled her eyes and took his hand. "I'm serious," he stressed as they walked slowly towards the lake.

"I know you are," Aly said with a mocking grin.

"Alllsss," he whined, his playful tone not able to break the worry lines on his face. She just continued on.

They sat down by the lake and she put her toes in the water. They didn't say much. He just wrapped his arm around her and held her. They sat there all day. Aly was just happy to have the sun on her face, the water on her toes, and Sirius' arms wrapped around her. He seemed content to just hold her. They made their way inside as the sun began to get lower in sky.

As they entered the Great Hall for dinner, Aly felt her chest tighten. News of her return must've spread, and it felt as if every eye in the room was on her. Sirius took her hand and intertwined his finger with hers. "It's alright," he whispered.

She nodded, but held back tears that welled up behind the corners of her eyes. She saw Regulus at the Slytherin table. He was clearly refusing to meet her eyes. She couldn't help but wonder who else was at that table had been there. Sirius guided her into a seat next to Lily. She ate very little, but the others said nothing assuming she still wasn't feeling well. In reality, she was having an internal panic attack. Her chest was tight, and she spent most of dinner focusing on her breathing, trying to calm it. She had to walk around wondering who was there, who knew her secret, who might tell Sirius.

She knew people were whispering about her. Luckily, they seemed to wait until after she had finished at the table before pouncing on her. Most asked if she was ok, but a few tried to extract details of the event from her. Sirius barked at them as he pulled Aly in the opposite direction.

She settled into the common room and stared at the fire. Sirius had sat down next to her and wrapped his arm around her shoulders and held her close. Lily headed up the stairs to their bedroom and never reappeared. The other marauders took their normal seats. To any onlooker, the room would seem to be in order, with everything back in place. However, inside Aly, an internal war raged. She held her breath to control the shaking she knew would start. She felt tears well up in her eyes. She yelled at herself for letting herself act like this. She was stronger than this. She had survived and wouldn't allow herself to be taken captive again. She was Alyson Patricia Dumbledore. She took on the toughest obstacles and overcame them with ease. Still, she couldn't shake the lingering fear. Also, Sirius hadn't actually said anything about her disappearance other than that he could smell her. Despite her fear and anger over the whole incident, she couldn't shake the hurt feeling that he had had nothing else to say. Shouldn't he have declared his love for her again? Shouldn't he have spoken of how he fell to pieces with her gone? Sure, he had been clingy since she reappeared but she wanted, no, needed more than that. She let this resentment for his lack of feelings fester as well as all the other emotions she was feeling.

She was sure Sirius could tell something was wrong, but he let her sit and deal. All she wanted was for him to do something or to say something. She needed to hear something out of him. Anything.

Finally, when she could see the half moon almost disappear over the window, she stood and announced she was going to bed. She was more hurt than anything now. He should've had something to say to her even if it was a lie to make her feel better.

Sirius looked surprised by her sudden movement and started to stand as she brushed past him. "I'll see you tomorrow," she said coolly.

As she snuggled up into her blankets, she knew she should be happy to be back in her own bed. However, she knew it would be a rough night trying to find sleep with so much burning in her brain. She cursed Sirius for making it impossible for her to enjoy her much missed pillow as she closed her eyes and let out a huff.

XxXxX

It was dark, and she was cold again. She felt scared and alone. The door creaked open, and light steamed in. She knew what that meant. To her relief, it was Sirius in the doorway. She tried to call out his name, but, when she opened her mouth, nothing came out. She kept trying to yell. Suddenly, Sirius transformed into Regulus, and her stomach flipped. It had been a trap. He came charging towards her, pulling his mask down as he came. She felt his cold fingertips wrap around her wrist.

"Aly?" she heard him say. He sounded afraid. What did he have to be afraid of? He was the one attacking her. "Aly!" she heard the mask say harshly.

Aly sprung straight up in her bed. She was sweaty and dizzy. She was breathing like she had run a hundred miles. She swung out in fear, only to have her other wrist captured by a hand. When she saw the purple nail polish, she breathed a sigh of belief "Lily?"

"Yeah, it's me." She came closer, and Aly could make her out in the dark. "Are you okay?"

Aly nodded quickly. She could feel her heart beating like crazy. "Why did you scare me?" she asked.

"Sirius asked me to come up and get you, and you were tossing and turning when I got here. Then you swung at me," she added sounding like her feelings were a hurt.

"Sorry," Aly said, her breathing starting to go back to normal. "Bad dream."

"I bet," Lily said, releasing her wrists. "Do you need to talk?"

Aly ignored her friends question and asked instead, "Sirius sent you up? Why?"

"Dunno," Lily told her, "But it seemed urgent."

Aly nodded, not sure if Lily could see her. She threw her covers back and groaned as her joints protested the movement. They both headed down the stairs. There was a fire burning brightly in the common room. Sirius was leaning against the back of the couch, head pointed down, his hands shoved into his pajama pants pockets. His head shot up as Aly stumbled sleepily down the last stairs. He smiled at her. She tried and failed to return it, the nightmare still in the back of her mind.

Lily made her way to the couch in front of the fireplace. Her books and papers took up the entire coffee table. Aly realized now why Lily had gone straight to bed after dinner - she was studying at night for exams so no one would bother her.

"Hey," he said simply, his hands turning into fists in his pockets.

"What's going on? What's wrong?" Aly asked squinting in the light of the room. Sirius looked at her sheepishly but said nothing.

Aly began to feel agitated. "Why did you have Lily scare the crap out of me and then drag me down here?"

He turned angry eyes on Lily, "You weren't suppose to scare her!"

Lily looked up at him over her shoulder, frowned, and stated, "I didn't mean to." She then turned back to her book. His scowl deepened at her, but lifted as he turned back to Aly. "I…" he started and sent a quick, annoyed glance at Lily before taking a few large steps forward to take Aly's hands. "I've missed you."

Aly blinked quickly. Where was this a few hours ago when she needed to hear it? She felt aggravated as she stared at him.

"I was hoping, I mean, if you want, I think, see I haven't been able to sleep, and if," he stammered. Aly's nerves screeched together and it was her turn to scowl, but at him instead of Lily. "I need you to sleep next to me," he finally stated and then immediately looked down at the floor. His ears burned red.

Aly felt her agitation lift immediately and her heart melt. "That'd be alright."

He looked up, "Really?" She smiled at him, and he returned one. He took her hand and led her toward the boy's stairs.

"Night, Lily," Aly called as they went. Lily merely lifted a hand at them not taking her eyes off of her book.

Once nestled into Sirius' bed, the drapes pulled back, her head resting on his chest, Aly knew she'd finally be able to get some peaceful sleep. The soft rumble in Sirius' chest told her that he was finally going to get some too.

XxXxX

Aly had managed to make it through her exams even after all she had been through. Most of the teachers had been generous enough to offer her more time, but she insisted she take them with the rest of her classmates. Charms had been the only sore spot for her. Flitwick had winked at her as he handed her her grade much to Aly's dismay. She had gone to her father and insisted she be given the grade she deserved. So, it was a very confused Flitwick that conceded and lowered the grade.

The train was scheduled to leave the next day, and the sun shined down bright on the green ground. Aly found herself out by the lake with the Marauders. Sirius had been keeping extra close to her since her return, and the other boys seemed okay with Aly's constant presence, even James.

Aly stood and watched as the boys pulled off their shirts to jump into the lake. She had been contemplating a lot of things involving her and Sirius' connection with Voldemort. She played different scenarios over and over in her head. She had her father's opinion on the matter, but she needed another one - a more important one.

As Sirius pushed Remus into the water, she called out James's name. He looked confused as he came closer. "Can I talk to you for a minute? It's important," she stressed.

He nodded once and pulled his shirt back and followed Aly as she separated herself from the other boys. They made it to the edge of the forest when Aly turned to face him.

"What I am about to tell you," Aly shook her head, "It's vital that it stays between us. No one else can know."

James looked even more confused and said nothing.

"You have to promise. Not a word of this ever gets back to Sirius."

James asked, "Is this about what happened while you were missing? Did something between you and a deatheater? Like physically? Cause I can't not tell him that..."

Aly looked into his hazel eyes and saw them blaze in a way she had never seen. His loyalty to Sirius ran that deep. Aly knew Sirius had been worried about the exact thing James asked. He had made subtle hints towards it, but never seemed to accept the fact that when she said she was fine and nothing happened she really meant it.

"No," she told him. "It's not that, and tell Sirius to let it go. It's something else."

He looked relieved when she said no but still looked suspicious. "You have to swear never to tell Sirius what I'm about to tell you," she stated again. "It's life and death."

"Who's life?" he asked.

"Both his and mine," Aly told him. She was antsy. She needed to tell him. Why wouldn't he just promise?

After a long pause, James finally nodded.

Aly heaved a great sigh before going head first into the details of what had transpired. When she finished she told him, "My dad says that I shouldn't worry about it until it happens, that Voldemort might be gone by then. I just don't know what to do. My instinct says to protect Sirius, to stay away from him entirely. I just don't know. So, I need you to tell me what to do. You know Sirius even better than I do. So, what do I do?"

James seemed to absorb this. "Well, there's always a chance that you two won't even be together for any of this to be a problem." Aly bit her tongue. She figured he'd think this particular thought right away. "So, I don't see why you should tell him. He's already being protective enough of you. Why give him more to worry about?"

Aly blinked at him, not believing her ears. "Wait, you're telling me to stay with him? That you don't want me to break up with him?"

"Of course I don't want you to break up with him," James said with an eye roll. Aly's face scrunched up in disbelief so James elaborated, "Not that I like you two together, but he's happy. There's no reason to break his heart now for something that might happen later."

Aly felt a small amount of relief flood her as he said this. He was right. She would get to keep Sirius and the happiness he brought her for a while longer, maybe forever. She nodded at this and reminded him, "Not a word leaves this conversation."

"My lips are sealed," James said and looked over his shoulder. Water was flying from different parts of the lake.

"You can go," Aly told him, and he beamed in excitement before taking off in a run for the water. Aly watched as he pulled his shirt off and cannonballed near one of the boys. Aly smiled at the scene they all made. They all seemed so happy.

"Psst," someone whispered behind her. Aly jumped. She turned to see Hagrid peeking through the trees at her.

"Hagrid?!" Aly gasped, clutching her chest. "You scared me half to death."

"Sorry, Als. Shouldn't've snuck up behind ya," he whispered. "Can ya come with me?"

Aly nodded and followed him as he disappeared into the trees. She caught up with him and asked, "Did you hear anything I was talking about?"

He looked down at her and promised, "Didn' eavesdrop, Als. Saw you two talkin' and waited til I saw ya were done." They walked deeper into the woods, and Hagrid ventured cautiously, "What were ya two talkin' about?"

Aly smiled. She knew Hagrid loved gossip. She also knew how he always let things slip. "Nothing much, Hagrid. Just silly stuff."

He nodded, "Lily again?"

Aly nodded; thankful her best friend provided such a good excuse.

They reached a clearing deep in the woods. "Where are we?" Aly asked.

Hagrid held one of his giant fingers up to his lips to silence her.

Aly looked around in confusion. Suddenly, they appeared – the distinct half horse, half human bodies of the centaurs. "I've brought her," Hagrid announced very formally to the group. His big hand was on her back as he pushed her forward for them all to see. Aly felt stage fright take over as she stared blankly at the large crowd.

"Hi?" she said awkwardly with a small wave.

"She lives?" an elderly centaur said aloud.

"Maybe it was a lie," a female whispered loudly.

"She seems fine," another announced.

Aly felt her heart beat pick up. She spotted Bane standing not far away. It had been a long time since she had come to see him. It was hard to now that she was older. The group trusted her less and less. The whispers got louder as more of them joined in.

"Jus' ask her. That's why I brought her here," Hagrid said loudly.

They all hushed at once. The elder centaur stepped forward. "Is it true?"

"Is what true?" Aly asked out of confusion.

"You have faced he-who-must-not-be-named and lived to tell about it," he came very close to Aly. He seemed to be appraising her.

"Yes," Aly told him. It was easier to talk to him and try to ignore the crowd.

"You show no scars," he told her.

"Madam Pomfrey healed me." He stopped walking around her.

He stood up straight and asked, "Is it true what they say about him? Is he really a danger to all?"

Aly swallowed hard and nodded. The elder nodded back at her and lifted his arms over his head. The others all turned and began to leave. He looked at her again before turning to Hagrid and saying, "Thank you."

Hagrid made a rough noise and nodded. He looked down at Aly, "Sorry 'bout that. They heard rumors and wouldn' let me work in here til they saw ya for themselves. They seem jus as worried as us wizards about you-know-who."

Aly smiled, "It's okay, Hagrid."

"Do ya think you can find your own way outta here? I've got work I need ta do for Dumbledore." He puffed his chest out like he always did when he talked about her dad.

"I'm sure I can," she told him and started the opposite direction. She had almost made it out of the trees when she heard her name being called. As she got closer to the edge, she could tell that it was more frantic. She emerged and saw that it was Sirius yelling her name. He was searching the treeline.

Aly walked towards him, "Sirius?" What was wrong? She felt her pulse accelerate as she moved towards him. He caught sight of her and relief lifted the lines of concern from his face. He ran towards as fast as he could and nearly toppled her over with his bone crushing embrace.

"Thank god," he muttered into her hair.

"What's going on?" she asked as she tried to loosen his hold on her.

He grabbed her by the side of the face, "You cannot just disappear like that!" His relief seemed to be switching to anger. "You can't just go wandering off to wherever you want. You have to be more careful."

"There's no need to be so harsh about it," she told, "Plus, I didn't just wander off..."

He cut her off, "You disappeared, Aly. You can't just do what you want anymore. The last time that happened…" he struggled for words, "You can't just do that!" She leaned back as he yelled the last words at her.

"I was with Hagrid," she told him, stinging from his outburst. "And I can do what I want. I'm not going to stop living my life just because something could happen," she snapped at him.

"You should," he barked back.

"Should what?" Aly asked.

"You should do everything to prevent being hurt again," he told her. He began pacing. He ran his fingers through his hair as he tried to calm down.

He had no idea the weight his words carried for her. She looked at him, torn between telling him everything, and asked quietly, "What if it means being apart from you?"

He stopped and looked at her, "What do you mean?"

Aly quickly changed how she wanted to ask him the question, "What if you had to give up your life? What if you had to stay away from your friends? Stay away from me? Honestly."

She held her breath as she waited for his answer. He lowered his eyes to the ground as he said, "I wouldn't care. I wouldn't want to be apart from all of you if it was a matter of time anyways." He looked up. Aly's heart swelled and she had her final answer on the decision. She wouldn't tell him. She'd be happy with him. That decision was final.

"I'm sorry I scared you," she told him meekly.

"I'm sorry I freaked out," he returned.

They both stood apart for a few seconds and Aly asked, "Don't I get a hug?"

He smiled at her and wrapped his arms around her and held her.

"You know, you aren't going to be able to be with me 24/7 over the summer, right?" she asked against his chest.

"We'll see about that," he told her with an almost grim laugh.


End file.
